


Our Gold Rush

by ModestDragon



Series: A Colder Place To Lie [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Bromance, Dragonese (How to Train Your Dragon), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Mystery, Paranormal, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-17 23:55:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18109103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ModestDragon/pseuds/ModestDragon
Summary: They had been on many adventures together now. It was in their blood- human and dragon alike- to escape. Faced with the pressures of their new found reverence, Hiccup and Toothless journeyed often. A dusty tome promises grand discovery not far away. They follow. What if they find something they could never really explain, even to one another? *Dragons can speak, set before HTTYD 2*





	1. Our Gold Rush

A/N: What's up fandom?! Long time no see. Didn't think I'd come back to this but I'm on a kick right now, I guess! I forgot how purely fun writing fanfiction can be. I've been in the headspace of HTTYD again because the movie is coming out soon and I had a little idea for a story! I had no beta-readers on this so I hope it isn't too trash and reads well enough. Excuse any errors I may have made, please. Anyway- welcome to part one of two (I think). Hope you enjoy.

Second A/N (for AoOO): This is my first story to this website. It's already finished on FFN, but it's the set up for a bigger story I'm working on that I will be updating here as well when I start turning the wheels on it. I'll post the rest of this long-shot tonight! Until then, stick around- or find me under the same name on FFN.

THIRD A/N FOR STORY PURPOSES: Toothless can actually speak Norse in this story! The dialogue flicks between Norse and Dragonese (which will be italisized).

* * *

 

The earth came back into focus as the small, lush clearing in the trees turned away from the sun to meet the night in comfortable routine, and the crickets began to pour their lonely, passionate sounds into the warm breeze. Everything else seemed to still with the growing shadows, aside from the silhouette of a swift squirrel flinging up a tree, which broke the sole focus in the camp, making apparent that the strain in the eyes of the lone human was becoming nearly unbearable for him now.

He had barely noticed this sensation until then, being utterly dissolved in his funnel-like attention on the fading words before him, and he blinked his eyes harshly. He must have been squinting for a long time. They were actually aching. How did he get so lost in it again? Nonetheless, Hiccup was aware he needed to come back to his aggravating reality, and had to resign to closing the tomb he was reading. So he did, doing it with the utmost indigence he could muster on the thick binding.

It clapped loudly. This was a very dramatic show of his pent up feelings. The sudden commotion could have startled any creatures unaware of him due to him being seated on his rock so quietly for so long. If he weren't alone, his mounting frustration and the final growl he made as he closed the book would have been obvious to anyone around him. It was probably an unlike him to be so petulant, and would have been interpreted as concerning and borderline excessive to anyone that knew him.

Hiccup could deny neither of these things. He was ashamed now. It was the pit growing inside him that made him act that way. He sighed.

This whole thing was ridiculous. Considering the tomb was the main reason he was out here in the first place, and given the fact that he would have desperately read the same single passage over and over again if he could- like he already  _had-_  fighting the low-light that slowly sunk into the distant ocean, he knew he had something like a unhealthy obsession at this point on the content of the pages. But, there was not enough light anymore to make out the wonderful calligraphy, so was forced to give it up for the night. It stung deeply.

Obviously, it was for the best, though.

Another hour of another day wasted, he cringed in thought. How was re-reading the same passages going to get him anywhere closer to his goal? These words were clear and plain, concise, how ever uninformative they really were. There was nothing conspicuous hidden between the lines or anything like that. Hiccup was sure of it. He was figuratively regurgitating in his own brain, over and over when tracing the two pages that consumed his last two weeks. It was so foolish.

If he couldn't find who he was looking for in this place, he didn't want to show his face back in his house again. He had giddily spoken to his dubious father and chief about what he would find like he already did find it, like the binding of his oh so trusted tomb didn't literally say " _Deep text of Berkian_ MYTHOS  _beasts",_ and this wasn't the singlular thing he had to guide him on with his expedition's success. Hiccup didn't even have any advice from his father. He only got a strange look when confronted with his son's plan to find the beast.

In one of the brightest chambers if his imagination, he could see himself returning home with no story to tell, and he could taste the stain labeled "gullible" smeared straight on his tongue. It was bitter and shiver-inducing.

Before entertaining these thoughts further, Hiccup shook it off and carelessly tossed the book to the side, bounding off his knapsack. He examined his surroundings.

He was sitting in their temporary campsite. His hammock was fluttering rhythmically in the breeze next to the long-dead, but used campfire. He decided on this spot because of the gorgeous, sheltered tree he tethered his things to. It sat on a high hill overlooking his surroundings. From the clouds, he saw that it potentially offered a shelter and shape not unlike the Tree of Life (from what he'd saw of its illustrations), and mused over it. Its branches reached high and far into the sky in beautiful arches, drooping down with ropey appendages covered with tapering leaves. It was deeply green.

He loved the color of it. It made him feel refreshed when he first laid eyes on it. He knew he wanted to hunker down under its shade and erect their base.

Initially, he immediately regretted it the moment the sun began to dip on the first night. It was revealed to them that it was absolutely infested with crickets. Hiccup and his friend agreed that it really sucked, but they were already settled in, and gratefully, the noises died down once the smoke continued to billow up from the fire and drown them out.

They had been here for five nights now. Hiccup could have felt bad for disturbing the particular peace, but he would be gone soon too. Tomorrow morning, in fact. Hopefully with something to show for it, though.

Which was the useless equivalent of wishing on a star, it seemed.

Hiccup noticed he had taken the kettle off the spit a while ago to rid the clatter it made in the breeze, because it bothered him when he was reading, and now it sat beside the hearth in the dirt, needing a rinsing before it could be used again.

Hiccup sat and stared dejectedly. He pondered this. He pondered how he was truly hungry, and not really thirsty. However, particularly restless as he was, he couldn't just sit and wait any longer. He needed to do something.  _Something_  was the least he could do. He could settle on brewing some tea until he had food, he decided.

He turned back toward his knapsack beginning to reach to dig through his bag. The shiny binding of the tome glinted back at him in the lowlight- it read again Deep Text of Berkian Mythos Beasts- and it spelled out the disappointment this entire trip had been so far. This rushed Hiccup with irritation and he looked away harshly. Waving around inside his bag, an itching frustration was steadily building inside. He couldn't, for the life of him, find his teabags. His face got hot. Finally, he realized that he left them in the saddle, not his bag.

He stood up and walked to the charred, disheveled earth only some creatures could call a bed. It was directly under the Tree of Life, the saddle lazily plopped on its side next against the thick bark. There was a few dead scales littering the earth around it, shimmering with good health to the acquainted eye.

Hiccup flipped the saddle back upright and filched through the many pockets for a few seconds, before he came to another sudden realization. This irritated Hiccup beyond comprehension, now.

_You_ really _forgot, didn't you?_ He thought with seething toxicity. _How are you going to heat up a kettle without any fire-wood, dumbass!_

He had used up the last of the wood he had last night, and it was his responsibility to get more if needed. His friend has already reminded him of this before he left and the sun was high.

Hiccup gave a hard kick with his good foot to the dirt, digging up black soil and dead plants. A groan shook the camp. His face felt humid now.

Earlier in the day, after another day of exploring this new world, he was beat and decided to sit down momentarily to rest and go over his notes once again. Making mental note as he did to chop up some wood before it got dark, thinking reasonably. He was left alone soon after, and the last hour or so of his life was spent staring at the same pages. The time had drifted right out of his grasp and into the void of nothingness. It had been time absolutely wasted. He had learned nothing new, and had done nothing. How could he be so stupid?

Hiccup almost gave into the old habit of pulling at his hair when he got upset. He had worked very hard to overcome that and really had, however, he was unnaturally upset at the moment. Frustration rushed into his being and crackled in his fingertips. A low roar threatened him behind a fence, and wanted to burst free with spittle flying freely from its metal teeth and enormous throat.

He absorbed this flash of heat with a moment of clarity. He didn't understand why he was so angry in the moment. It was unlike him to be this way. He wasn't a child anymore, and he shouldn't a simple feeling get the best of him.

With an envious amount of self-control, he came back into himself. Picking, prodding, pulling at mental roots until he found the troubling one that seeded itself inside him.

It was obviously the disappointment that was getting to him. The cold failure he had to accept that this trip was becoming. It had been fun nonetheless, yes it had. They had done many things worthwhile on this island, however it had been wholly fruitless on Hiccup's Tree of "Pride". He sat in its shadow and felt like he was rotting there with what fell from it. Here he came, his goals set on something fantastic, and he let his hopes toss him to the wind. Hiccup was intensely bittersweet, thickening fast into resentment for himself tonight. It was an idiosyncrasy to be temperamental, but he probably adopted this from his father.

A heavy sigh resounded. He couldn't help himself. Hiccup was a dreamer. And for that, he suffered years of being the village disappointment. Until, suddenly, he made the drastic choice that changed Berk's everything. The part of him that lived in the past was long dead now, and he didn't want to feel the way he did ever again, he supposed.

He should have listened to his friend when he told him to close his heart to the unrealistic. He hated statements like that, especially from him- both of their lives stood tall and menacing in the face of unrealistic. Almost anything was possible. He wanted nothing more in his short life but to prove that.

Yet, it was good advice he took for granted in this case. This wasn't a surprise. His friend was much more rooted to the earth when it came to the unknown, and Hiccup was much further up, in the clouds. Thinking about it, it was very ironic. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at that. Regardless, in his bestest friend's infinite good humor towards him, they were always chasing something new. Hiccup had a habit of proving his friend wrong as well, though.

Hiccup was the only one who truly cared for finding this mysterious beast. It was realistic to think that he wouldn't be letting anyone down when he returned home. They should just be happy to see him.

The young man sighed again. Hiccup would do best to at least keep his promise for when his friend came back. He'd trudge into camp and there would be no fire-wood for the both of them, and Hiccup would have no excuse? He had his end of the bargain, and he was already on his way to blowing it.

Swallowing sour acceptance, and on his way to the direction of the chopped wood outside of camp, he grabbed his axe, his flask, and his heavy feelings, dragging his feet all the way. If he could manage it, he would forever do his best not to fail the forbidden ally. He had wasted a lot of time here, but he should still have time to beat him. If not, he would meet his friend here soon after when he got back and assuredly receive a glower. Hiccup would only worry when he returned to a still empty camp.

_**########** _

* * *

**_########_ **

This was a another new world to the both of them. Well, he couldn't be positive how new it was to his friend. He was much more versed, but Hiccup was absolutely stunned. It was a vibrant and noisy and interesting one too. A plentiful array of beautifully versatile life and energy! If not a little small (not that that saddened him; it was easier to log on the map this way). It was one of the smallest archipelagos Hiccup had ever seen- quaint and untouched by any human life, it seemed. That was Hiccup's favorite thing to discover when they went out exploring. To find that humans hadn't meddled with it yet. The human loved his kind, but couldn't deny the ugliness they could bring with them, and how much they could really take from a place. It left him very gloom thinking about it. Hiccup was awestruck when they got their first good glimpse of it, looking down upon it, days ago.

However, there was still a chance that he truly wasn't the first human to make contact here. That's what the book told him. At this point though, it felt like grabbing steam to continue holding on to this quickly dissipating hope. He contented on his peaceful, lonesome walk to enjoy the wonderful islands for what they were, not what they initially meant to him. He would be licking this wound for a while, he knew, but he was already embracing this fact. On the bright side, he had another fresh adventure with his partner, traced it onto his map, and was eager to bring it back to his fellow Vikings and share this with him. Fishlegs, especially.

His father might laugh, but they would be proud of yet another discovery, and that should be enough.

Eventually, it would.

Coincidences did exist, and they could happen often. And sure, this was so much like the islands described in the book. So similar in the particularly vague way that it was written about that it was honestly incredibly infuriating. His friend never had the same amount of passion for the goal as Hiccup, but he still did his best to help triangulate where this place could be if it really existed, and supported him all the way. Adventure was in his blood too; an excuse was an excuse, he probably thought.

They ended up here.  _This should have been the place the dragon called home._

Coincidences were real, but Hiccup had to reconsider the possibility that it was made up too. Flavor text for the ungrounded imagination and a truthfully good book. A half truth for the affect. It was possible that this place was found and left untouched, although its apparent inhabitant was a creation of the author. Outright lying was even more likely.

You can't believe everything you read, even when you very wholeheartedly wanted to. Losing himself in foolish stories was what kept Hiccup sane as a young teen. Hiccup learned that many people lie, long ago, and in a moment of boredom, he might have forgot and became consumed by the fantasy. Chalk it up to guilty habit.

Maybe the strange beast was just another lie.  _I mean, the creature was pretty outlandishly fantastical._

The archipelago was a perfectly constructed curve of lively land. The art of nature was something no one could truly match. Hiccup envied its figurative hand every day. It began with the biggest island, to the south, stringed together with five other islands that grew smaller with each one as you traveled up. The islands curved out west, until the they trickled back in quite tightly to the north-east with the artistic intention of a professional with a paint brush. Looking from the top-down, the shape of the entire thing reminded Hiccup of the body of a fish, a dolphin, or many other things that glided through the sea. Sleek, graceful, efficient. It was perfect to him, and reminded Hiccup of many different things.

_Inspiring_. That's that word he would use to describe it. He appreciated this place.

They were camped out on the biggest island. There was a small mountain slicing into the low clouds on this one, while the rest didn't have any peaks that rose up to it, which was to be expected. It erected at the cornerstone of the island. One side of the peak was extreme cliff-side and cold rock, nothing much growing on its harsh slopes. Hiccup imagined it during a storm: the rain pouring down the side, disturbing rocks and pockets of dirt on the way down, all plummeting and sloshing into the deep ocean below. It was a stark, but complementive contrast to the other side.

On the opposite side, there was a cascade of rich vegetation and proud, looming trees on the mountainside. This was the side that took in the rain graciously using every last drop, collecting into a stream, blooming lusciously into the land below and spreading its life hungrily throughout the entire island, giving back to the world it blossomed from. There were many colors and sounds that hypnotized him with the certain astonishment. They were on a hill that looked over all the rest, and he stared down across the breathtaking vista. It filled his head with so much lively wonder and green. They twirled and bonded with one another with such versatility. Vines encircling trees- mist licking the surface of the still body of waters. How did all these unique plants and trees come to be, and how long have they truly been here? How did this place shelter so many individual creatures, keeping most of them safe from his eye but still resonating all their content chirps and happy sounds throughout the leaves like an amplifier to his ear? How was there a picturesque lake at the center and a complete chain of life sustained around it, nourished to the point of nearly spilling over itself, but still totally perfect? Was he good enough to draw it? It bewildered him. He couldn't even imagine up a place better than this in a dream.

Hiccup had many questions he would never get the answer to (all he understood was that this mountain could have been a volcano long ago. He didn't much understand that, still, that's what the book said). That didn't bother him very much, to be frank. He liked to think and imagine how these things came to be himself.

However, he didn't enjoy getting toyed with. The similarities stacked up between the book and this location were too great, meaning that this island should have been harboring a marvelous beast within its boundaries. That's what Hiccup wanted to find after he dusted this tomb off his father's personal collection, and promptly obsessed over it for weeks.

There was, apparently, an ancient, legendary dragon that would seize you with its pure beauty that resided on this archipelago. It was described as a great royal being that encased itself in dazzling, untarnished molten gold, and held itself up with perfect grace. It glittered so much that it threatened to blind the viewer in daylight. The gold plating cracked with every move of the long, serpent-like body, trailing a shower of beautiful nuggets and gemstones behind it. This might have for simple protection, but Hiccup didn't believe that for a second. From his knowledge and experience, he suspected this was also a  _hoarding_  dragon, and it's scales might  _be_ the precious hoard.

It was called the Ku'lvet Rueth.

This would be a life changing catch for a scoundrel. They could find the beast, slaughter it if possible, and take the riches. Hiccup was not all interested in this idea, wouldn't even entertain it, frankly. He knew it meant certain death. The most dangerous dragons were hoarders that were threatened to be pilfered. He just wanted to see this beast with his own eyes. If he was very lucky, he would also like to talk to it. He had learned enough Dragonese to hold a simple conversation.

But now they were here and they found nothing. After spending days wandering, it was hard to believe that it was avoiding them on this small island. Well, if it was really as big as three sail-ships long and it shined like a star in the light and it left a very obvious trail wherever it went, it was impossible after they had touched down on virtually even corner and cranny of this island to find absolutely nothing. No sign or trace of anything considered mythical or enormous. The closest they got to a sign was finding the rotting carcass of what looked like a shark just beyond the tree line, past the beach. It was far enough that there were confident that something had to have dragged it, but what? One lousy, dead shark? Was it beached already? There were no tracks. They couldn't know for sure. And there absolutely wasn't gold just  _littering_  the ground like it was falling like rain. He didn't see any places where gold could exist, either.

All the hope Hiccup had for this felt terribly silly now. For a few moments, he actually thought he could find something not many had ever seen before. Looking back, he was too grown to be so naive, and felt embarrassed of himself. Whatever, he thought. It was also his personal belief to be in touch with himself. He was a curious man with some free time on his hands still.

This trip away from Berk was just a reason to get away, at its core, like all of their adventures to new lands. They had been cooped up for a while lately. Hiccup noticed the restless tension for the fair weather and made the move. Why his friend supported this idea for so long though, he couldn't understand.

Maybe he could. They had had fun.

Hiccup continued walking through the dark forest. He wish he could be taking in the green around him once again, but all he could really make out was the shapes of the trees and the path, shadows, and then even darker ones. Taking a swig of his dark mead (his friend would not approve of this right now), he was confident in where he was going. Hiccup had found a fallen tree a few minutes outside of camp on his first day here, chopping it up into sturdy firewood. There should be a few more logs just for the taking over there. He had a lantern at camp, yet he didn't take it. It would only encumber him on such a short journey.

Stumbling only a few times and only getting slapped by a low branch once, Hiccup found the firewood behind the boulder he marked with charcoal. Hiccup adjusted his prosthetic, took another swig from the bottle, and bent over to clumsily heave all the logs into his arms. It was tough, but doable for his scrawny ass. After grunting and cursing, he found good purchase on the bundle and heaved them all into his arms.

With a groan, he stood up straight once again, ready for expedition all the way back to camp with his convoy. He was not excited.

Then, suddenly but as clear as the taste of liquor on his tongue, he heard a twig snap behind him.

He whirled around, only to be met with the logs obstructing the view in front of him, being stacked so high, and only darkness closing in from beyond that.

Hiccup was immediately alert, and this made him aware of how much liquor he actually drank. He was truthfully slightly buzzed, which scared him, yet he had to bottle his nerves. Everything is fine. Get a grip, he told himself. Although, his instincts were assuring him that it definitely could be not fine. His nerves were screaming he was not alone, and he was much too vulnerable with his grip on all the logs. Hiccup froze and listened intently, hearing nothing but the sound of the wind and the crickets above him.

He felt so dramatic, but this freaked him out further. It was probably a tree adjusting in the wind. The breeze had slightly picked up.

There was only silence, and he felt very alone. Did he? The stupid liquor was bubbling in his thoughts, conflicting his reason. He couldn't rest anymore.

Taking it in stride, Hiccup took a quiet, deep breath and slowly, painstakingly lowered his heap to the ground, being so very careful not to make any sound, all the while trying to remain attentive of his surroundings, and particularly in the direction he heard the very real snap(?), which happened to be between him and camp, unfortunately. Once he could see around the heap, he saw nothing if not inky dark between him and the camp. This ran a deep chill down Hiccup's spine, but he didn't relent in his care with the logs. So slowly, they all settled on the floor, an inward sigh of relief as he succeeded in this without bumbling.

He crouched there for a few more moments, taking in his surroundings. There was nothing to hear, to see, to feel. Nothing. Yet his brain was blaring every alarm in his head and growing louder by the second, until it was threatening to overwhelm him in real full-blown panic. It gnawed an emptiness into his chest and quaked throughout his temples. Growing dizzy, he squinted into the trees between him and the camp. Where the hell did this fear come from? Why was he so uncomfortable now?

He capped the well of emotion before it pooled over, like he had been training to and did so many times before this, even though he knew he couldn't really protect himself from anything larger than a small human like him. Hiccup was not strong, he knew that. But he was brave, he learned eventually. Also if real trouble came, maybe his friend would hear him before it was too late. If he didn't though, he could barely hold his own against a threat.

He couldn't stand here though. He had to do something, fast. There was something lurking. His brain smothered thought of anything different. Reason abandoned him now. Anxiety dissolved him and he took the side of caution.

Hiccup decided to finally make a move. Gingerly pulling his long blade from his belt, he stalked towards the closest tree to his left, as quietly as his prosthetic allowed him. Gratefully remembering that he greased up his metal joint before they left their home. He knew if it was a dragon than he was already caught, so it didn't matter. If it wasn't, he still had a chance.

He succeeded in this, making his way all the way to the tree without any hitches or squeaks. He could hardly find relief in this though. His instincts were now wailing that this wasn't right and he needed to just get out as soon as possible. Adrenaline began to jolt into his limbs and left his head slightly murky with stimulation.

Hiccup could barely contain the creeping dread that was closing in on him now. Something is here. He couldn't place it, but could feel a presence closing in around him like it was the dark itself, leaving a cold perspiration on his forehead, and his back sickly damp. His instinct told him suddenly that he couldn't fight this. He almost screamed out. What am I doing? I can't fight back with a knife. I need to run! Run, Hiccup!

Placing a hand on the tree for support, his mind quickly raced between a decision. When he did, he took a deep breathe.

At that, he slapped his lips together.

Fish.

It was the taste of fish in the air. There was a strong smell sticking around him, seemingly emanating from above. He sniffed again, and that hit Hiccup as grossly familiar.

Puzzled, Hiccup looked up, and shrieked when he saw two green eyes floating in the leaves.

The human fell back on his ass. "Ah, You- _guh-_ you  _stupid_  lizard asshole!" he managed to choke out with a hand clutching his chest.

"Good boy!" Toothless exclaimed cheekily from his hanging position, looking like a looming demon to anyone but Hiccup. The dragon gurgled deeply in a laugh, sounding quite weird even for his standards. Hiccup supposed that's just what he sounded like laughing upside down, and Hiccup admittedly found that pretty funny. Not then, but later. "You saw me before I could get you, and you sensed me long before! I've taught you well, haven't I?"

Toothless gracefully dropped from the tree and slithered over to his human, much too inflated by his good scare. He stood over him and looked down, puffing his chest in pride. He was nearly invisible in the dark. "You know I could always snatch you if I wanted, but I do this for your own good. And your perception has improved a lot. I'm impressed Hiccup." The dragon gave him a irritating wink, then said again, "Good boy."

Hiccup could barely breathe from the shock and fury. "You're so  _awful_!" Hiccup stated, "I should wrap you in eels when you are sleeping."

"Say it in Dragonese if you mean it."

" _Lei tien furgneis latta missai si!_ " Hiccup snapped at him, almost frothing at the mouth.

" _Suun fiet_!" he said, absolute elation in his eyes, "That was perfectly pronounced Hiccup, and you took a creative initiative in saying it! I wouldn't have to worry about you if you weren't so damn lanky." He prodded his cheek playfully. "Where did you learn such curses anyway?"

"Shut it. I know you're being facetious. If you keep doing that, I'll be so alert I could never sleep again, and then you'll never be able to rest either. By the realms, my heart hurts. You really freaked me out. I felt like I was going mad." still clutching his himself, the frazzled human settled back to lay on the cold dirt, trying to get his breathing under control.

Toothless towered over the young man. He snorted in good humor and smiled a toothy grin. "Ah, I know you're happy to see me, and you should trust your instincts, obviously. I just thought I'd make sure you were spirited for the night, and fix that if not. You were supposed to grab the wood earlier, I thought? Remember our agreement? Don't you do chores at home?" He nudged his face again.

Hiccup was incomprehensibly happy to see him deep down. His instincts were true when they told him that something dangerous was lurking, but it was no danger to  _him_. Still, he couldn't forgive this crime so quickly. He pushed his dragon away. "I forgot for a while, alright? Thanks for interrupting that, anyway. You must have been tailing me since the moment I left camp, huh, stinky?"

Toothless made no comment. "What do you think?"

Hiccup didn't want to admit that he had no idea.

"I should have smelt that breathe from a mile away."

"Baby." he purred as he craned his head down. "Are you crabby because your hungry?"

Hiccup sat up, feeling better now, if not slightly betrayed. He wasn't sure if he was being teased again, but the salamander wasn't wrong. "I'm really hungry." he huffed pathetically.

Hiccup felt the warm breath of the Night Fury rustle his auburn hair. It was never really a good smell (often very fishy), but the human was would always find it immensely soothing. It reminded him he was safe, where ever he was. He could be in the center of an explosion, and find comfort in a great huff of Toothless. He wasn't sure if his dragon knew this, but some things didn't need words put to it.

After a silence, Hiccup expressed his confusion once his breath came back to him enough. "Why would I need to be  _spirited_ when we're about to turn in for the night, huh? Since when do you talk like that anyway?" He mocked.

Toothless in turn gave him a very conspicuous look. He seemed very amused. This shifted Hiccup to bewilderment.

"...What, Toothless?"

"I might have found something." Toothless said.

Hiccup squinted back at him. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it right now. We might have to save it, anyway. Let's get back to camp."

Toothless crouched down, and Hiccup clutched a strap on his shoulder, getting lifted onto his feet with ease. Once he was stable, Hiccup decided they would be even after a small shove to the dragon, and so he did. Neither of them could help the smiles on their faces.

"So you just like to scare me?" Hiccup asked.

"I hope you're in the mood for turkey. I got you a juicy one." Toothless said, dodging what was self-evident.

Hiccup would have pressed further on Toothless conspicuous look, however, the idea of turkey broke his train of thought. Turkey was one of the greats in his book.

Hiccup couldn't help but salivate a little. His stomach was aching in need. "That sounds very good. What did you eat?"

"Good. I found a moose myself." He licked his chops jocosely. "I'm full."

The human shook his head with a small chuckle. "Ooo. It's no wonder you took your time, I guess. Never a sharing creature, were you?"

Toothless quietly hissed in his ear at the comment, making towards the camp. This tickled Hiccup and he had to itch it. " _Ngef. G_ et back then, silent, ungrateful warrior. I'll help with the wood."

"Sure thing, fishy."

* * *

A/N: Hopefully the refusal to not use a name until unveiling the obvious beloved friend of Hiccup wasn't too annoying. I just wanted to make more of an impact with it. Hope it worked well enough. Regardless, second chapter will be up in time. I'm trying to push these out without overthinking them. It's fanfiction, after all.

Leave a review!

~ModestDragon


	2. Into The Red

AN: Here's a quick update! There's actually gonna be three parts to this long-shot. I want to get this stuff out faster than what I'm used to, so I'm sort of challenging myself by making a jam-sesh out of it. This is all for fun, so I should simply do my best without spending too much time on it, right? To be transparent, I also want the extra chapter to provide more traffic. I think people would like it if they found it, hopefully. Anyway, this is just a mostly lighthearted, fluffy pillow of a second chapter. Also, I don't watch the cartoon network shows, so I'm not gonna comment on exactly what show it's set during. It wasn't even considered while writing, so just let your imagination fill the blanks. It's funner that way anyway.

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**Into the Red**

The Viking and Night Fury made their way back to camp without incident. The night soaked into the land until it grew colder and the moon flared at the crest of the sky. They chit-chatted in good tenor about nothing, really, but still had much to say to one another, about things like Fishlegs' new ridiculous helmet he was sporting, why Toothless' butt seemed to itch so much today, and why Hiccup's mentor never liked to shower. They ranted off and on, laughing heartily at each other about random things, shamelessly, like good friends could. The minutes glided by like warm tea down a sore throat.

Hiccup cherished these small moments for the way it filled his chest with a feeling akin to sunshine on his skin on a perfect summer morning, and Toothless felt pretty identical too. Hiccup had never had anyone he could talk to like this before he met his dragon, and Toothless hadn't had anyone close to him in a very long time until Hiccup. Things like this lifted them above the clouds, literally, and couldn't have a value put to it.

This mutual connection couldn't be left unsaid. Everyone on Berk could sense this. Even Hiccup's father, who would admit that neither could reach one like the other could, yet they brought out the best of them into the world for each to see. Stoick cherished this as well. The duo were individual puzzles of peoples that seemed to mismatch the pieces together, filling in spaces in the other that were neglected otherwise. The effect continued throughout the years and the two became resolute in themselves; the bond growing stronger by days and moons. They would both come to be great leaders one day. Stoick determined this in his quiet, proud manner, also unsaid.

So the two talked and teased on the previously uncharted archipelago, and eventually the conversation would slowly wisp out into the crackle of the campfire. Although, no kind of tension settled in the air. They were just as content in the simple company, and Toothless noted again how glad he was that it was just the two of them this trip (the last trip with Astrid and Stormfly was fun, but Toothless couldn't understand how they never wanted a moment of silence when they all left to  _get away_ ). He watched Hiccup finish dressing the turkey and began to roast it, the excitement reflecting brightly with the fire in his eyes as he turned it intently over the flames. Toothless smirked to himself at the sight, satisfied to bring the simple pleasure. He was being goofy and oblivious like he would when he was drunk. This would bug him sometimes: he was letting his guard down, and the constant concern for the boy only grew in his chest when he made himself so vulnerable. But he knew the boy was just enjoying himself, and he was glad to see him so relaxed after the last few days.

Hiccup knew he shouldn't have anything to worry about, so he drank them away. Toothless knew this too. So, he didn't judge, and quietly decided to turn and make for the small clearing a little ways down the hill, just a few paces through the trees, leaving the boy to his food.

He was always attentive where the human was relative to him. If something were to go awry, he'd be at his side like a flash of lightning. A few trees would do nothing to deter him. Hiccup knew that.

He'd been wanting a moment to reflect on himself for a while. Bundled up in the stresses of being a depended member of the Hooligan tribe- teaching alliance classes alongside the other teens and his fellow dragons, along with routine surveillance around Berk, among many other responsibilities- he was never able to avoid anyone for more than a few hours. He could only retreat to the cove for so long before something would bring him back. It wore the Night Fury thin.  _Grating,_ when it got really bad, and then it showed.

When Toothless had aggressively snapped at Ruffnut and Tuffnut during class for something inconsequential (he couldn't even remember what it was about now. It was their stupid nature for ceaseless antics), he immediately approached Hiccup about wanting for fresh air. He couldn't teach well in this state.

He was a solitary creature by nature, being molded mostly by isolation. Despite coming a long way from his former obsidian shell, he still needed for it eventually. It had been a few months of constant responsibility at Berk before this trip.

Hiccup and Toothless worked so well together because the human understood this in him. The night Toothless confided in Hiccup, he assured him they would take a break.

They worked so well because they related. Hiccup had become accustomed to be alone as well, growing up being a town freak. For better and worse, in his experience. In his absence among his society, he was able to practice his talents and learn not to take everything by face value. At a young age, he learned to deduce his own opinions that separated him further from his people, which in turn became the best thing to happen to everyone. And he was happy to provide this to his unique friend, nonetheless. It was necessary for Toothless to function, and Hiccup by extension. Anyway, the human had a bottomless interest in expanding his map, so he found the time to get them off the island regularly. It was about time.

Toothless padded into the clear plain and settled in his usual compression in the knee-high weeds, which had become one of his favorite places in recent memory. Toothless wasn't a spiritual person. He just liked to think in peace. Yet, this place had a strange divine effect on him, he realized.

It was a pocket outside of life.

With his superior sight, he could see every star in the sky- the only thing he shared with everyone else happening to be staring at the same studded backdrop- and the yellow blades beyond the calm stream in front of him waved welcomingly in the soft, formless breeze to him, inviting the only individual that appreciated its leisure. The ambient sounds of the wild pooled from all angles, allowing a lone dragon to suspend any thought he desired in the spring air to pick through. Toothless wasn't a creative type, but very vivid memories orbited the clearing, coming clear if given any focus. Growing nearly overstimulated from the borderline supernatural environment this place had turn into every night, Toothless had to dunk his head in the clear stream for a quick second, like he always did.

His ears flickered. His pupils contracted. Like they always did. There was immediate absolvement. With a deep breathe, he closed his eyes. He entered his impromptu temple.

Colors flashed and streamed and danced behind his lids. These spectrum of shades reminded him of very specific moments in his long life. There were so many he became dazed. Each color could represent a multitude of experiences he loved and hated, and built the individual he was today. He couldn't comprehend the profound phenomenon that overtook his perception like nothing had ever had before. He could compare this to recreation that humans partook in, but he didn't care to linger on the entity of this feeling. It was benevolent, he could sense it. And cathartic. Besides, it was all in his head.

This had been happening every night when he'd dunk his head into this stream. He hadn't told Hiccup about it. He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't a spiritual person.

He mentally reached out, blindly, catching a shade of beige. He clutched it hard, and it seemed to melt into him.

He suddenly had the sensation that the giant silk blanket Stoick had gotten him as a gift so many moons ago, the one he slept on back home to this day. He pondered this. He couldn't be sure why it brought such a specific image into his head, yet he could trace it back with such comfort now. A flurry of new feelings tingled throughout. It was so strange to him, still. These new feelings he experienced day to day, tangled with these tangible things he could say were his and his own. Growing up as a dragonkin, objects were nothing more than what they were.

Hiccup was almost jealous of this gift when his dad returned from Johann's with it, he remembered, but knew that the dragon would enjoy it more than anybody, regardless of the thick hide. And he did. Although Hiccup got to enjoy it plenty of times too, anyway. On sleepless nights, thanks to phantom pains and the like, it would help Hiccup to curl up on his rock.

Objects were sentimental to humans, and this idea of communion slowly soaked into him. It was because of beautiful intent behind these human gifts. Toothless never put such thought into such inanimate things before he met Hiccup, and it made him feel like he was never truly grateful for anything before that point.

Toothless pondered the concept of this truth and the many other memories that constructed his unbelievable ubiety among dragons and humans that was his existence now, flipping through them with warm diligence, staring into the moon now.

He felt so  _human_ , now. Did that even make sense? Should he be ashamed for the thought alone?

It all began with death. The Red Death, to be specific. And such fear, like nothing he had ever felt and hoped to die before he could feel again. This was a time of loss and nothing else. An existence so porous and meaningless that it defiled the laws of nature. Under her control, time and self were consumed under the wretched gaze, and Toothless couldn't actually be certain how long he was lost to her. He knew it was years, at least. There were so many faces in his head belonging to nobody, now, and they were so blurry. They were all gone. Forgotten. So many images of blood, and ruin, and fire.  _His_  fire.

He could already sense a tremble coming into being. He didn't want to think about this. Too many memories were rapid-firing in and out of his mind.

Instead, he focused, and simply thought about the day the curse was whipped out of him. And how as he was plummeting out of the sky, he awoke to finally be himself again. Wrapped in rope and nose diving into the trees, he thought he was going to die. In a morose way, he reflected, remembering being  _so relieved_  to see it coming- the ground speeding towards him- because  _he_  would feel it, not her. He would get to experience this, and die as himself, as so many others didn't get even that dignity. It was a beautiful tragedy. This shouldn't have been a comforting memory, but it was.

He didn't die. With his tail then gone, he accepted he was knocking on death's door, however. There was no hope on this small island he didn't know. Still, it was familiar- the land, the sky, the trees, like he saw it in a dream, when he was a hatchling or something. He learned later that he had been terrorizing an entire village there for months. Under  _her_  possession, these memories were foggy.

In his lowest moment, Toothless wanted to his ultimatum to come quicker than it was. He had given up, and he couldn't be aware the true freedom that awaited him. Him and one of another species, who thought he had made a terrible mistake. They couldn't have even comprehended it at the time of the first stare they exchanged. There was only pain on both ends, mirroring into a green gaze that became the turning point of a lifetime. Toothless would reflect and wonder why he left this human alive, aware that he was the one that shot him down. He just didn't care, in the end, because it was the single best thing that had happened to him since he last saw his mother's face. It was a knee-jerk decision, and it felt wrong to regret it. It didn't matter at the time.

Waiting for death in the cove, life would grow stronger than it had ever been in him. He was to become something even greater after this inconsequential choice. They would be given purpose. They would become the catalyst.

And he pondered on this now, on all his favorite memories that followed, before and after, cradled in the night. The stream flowed seamlessly and carried wonderful scents with it. The sky sparkled down at him proudly. Silence made way for the profound. This all became one with Toothless as he sunk deep into thought.

He had no reason to regret.

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Hiccup picked the last shred of meat off the thigh and let out a contented burp. He spent close to an hour in the same spot, eating and drinking more intently than he did most things, heedlessly picking up more passion as he felt more of the alcohol hitting his system. He was now full and very content. The turkey was very delicious, and he couldn't have asked for anything better to eat tonight. It really hit the spot, he thought bubbly, and he continued picking at his teeth with one hand as he slinged the bone over his shoulder with the other. It landed in the pile of scraps, next to his already empty canteen, and the tome he didn't seem to notice anymore.

His gut finally settled after the long day with the mixture of turkey and mead. He was so comfortable sitting against his rock facing the fire that before he knew it, he was dozing off. He was jerked back awake by his heavy head falling back against the rock. It knocked against it only lightly, and he rubbed it, looking around in slight embarrassment.

Toothless was still gone, he remembered. He was doing his nightly routine, out in the field. Meditation, Hiccup chalked it up to, but wasn't sure if Toothless wouldn't understand the word if he asked him. It was just one of his things, and it only needed to be as simple as that.

Hiccup stood up drowsily and stumbled over to his hammock. He dragged his blanket from inside it and wrapped it about himself, about to climb inside and let sleep take him. But, Hiccup realized he couldn't quite yet. Suddenly, he felt the need to thank his dragon for the great catch he got for him. He knew Toothless was aware of his love for turkey, and was touched for the effort. Also, if he was honest with himself, he had a underlying need he wouldn't admit to to wanting to just see him more time before he would go to sleep.

Hiccup still wasn't totally comfortable sleeping in new, wild places like this by himself. The darkness was a canvas for nightmares in his vivid imagination, and he was a bit ungrounded from the liquor. He felt the strange want for security. Feeling stupid and bothersome, he decided he would have a quick exchange with his friend, before he would leave him alone for the night like he probably wanted, and stalk back up to his retreat to rest. With a heavy heart, he knew he needed to be in shape for the flight back to Berk tomorrow. To be asleep sooner, the better. Maybe drink some water, too.

Hiccup walked past the dying fire clutching his blanket tightly around his shoulders. Critical thinking was abandoned. The dam that held any thoughts had broken from drunkenness and exhaustion he felt.

It was slightly chilly now, yet not getting any colder than it was. It was totally bearable. He chugged some lukewarm water from the kettle, then stumbled a bit through the trees. He did better than he expected in his state at this.

Hiccup could barely make out the black form in the grass, wholly camouflaged. He could see him though, laying still like a cut-out of the night sky itself. A wave of happiness flowed through him at the sight.

"Bud?" Hiccup called out, a little too excited for his taste.

"Yes?" He looked back over his shoulder, the green eyes piercing the night distinctly.

Hiccup lost his train of thought, hot sheepishness replacing the glee. He stammered, "Uh… um- thank you for the food! It was really good, and I just wanted to thank you!"

Hiccup could immediately not make eye contact, feeling lame. He could hear Toothless chuckle quietly, though.

"Sure. You're okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm great."

There was a stretching of silence. A  _knowing_ silence.

"You're drunk." Toothless seemed to correct him with mirth.

Hiccup grinned, glancing up at him. "...A little. The drink went well with it. It made the dirty work more bearable."

Toothless made an amused grunt, shaking his head unperceptively.

"Anyway!" Hiccup sighed, "I'm also tired. I wanted to tell you that before I went to sleep. Goodnight, Toothless." He began back up the slope.

To Hiccup surprise, however, Toothless piped up a question.

"Would you like to sit with me?"

Hiccup was startled. That was totally unexpected for him, and he was at a loss for a response for a moment. "Nonono, bud, it's alright. You enjoy yourself." He took another step forward.

"I would enjoy myself," He riposted swiftly, "Are you sure?"

Hiccup stopped again, feeling gall. The breeze caressed his red cheeks.

Was Toothless aware of his hesitancy to be alone? That would be humiliating. He wasn't a needy person by nature. He unlearned that quickly as a child. Maybe it was just because he was decently buzzed and he was making it more obvious how he was anxious to his hyper-aware friend. Regardless, he shouldn't need to be so dependent anymore.

Still, he couldn't help but see the appeal in the nice offer. He couldn't imagine anything better right now, actually.

"Don't you value your time?" Hiccup asked.

"You might be taking me a little too seriously, Hiccup. Come sit."

Hiccup hesitated, then gave in without another word.

Toothless adjusted so the human could take up his place. In silence, Hiccup tramped over to him rather shyly, Toothless watching him the whole way.  _The boy could be so strange when he was under influence_ , he thought.

_And an emotional whirlpool,_ they both thought, unaware of how in sync they were.

"You walk well on that leg inebriated." Toothless noticed.

"Good. I won't let it stop me anymore." He stated plainly, yawning.

Toothless was proud to hear that.

Hiccup huffed as he sat down next to the dragon and splayed his prosthetic leg out in front of him. It was beginning to get uncomfortable on him, typical after a few days long adventure. He really needed to rest it before the long flight tomorrow if he knew himself at all. It would be several hours in the hot seat and he could seize in cramps the entire way if he didn't take precaution. This part of life was lousy, but he knew how to manage it well enough after a few years of living with it.

Hiccup looked up at Toothless, who was gazing back at him.

"Do you mind if I take this off?"

Hiccup would always ask his friend first, as if he would say no. This puzzled Toothless every time. Toothless imagined he felt vulnerable without it, and therefore useless. To this extent he could understand, but he could sense something deeper, and possibly therefore, he felt like a burden to the Night Fury when he was crippled. Hiccup obviously was not a burden, and he wouldn't allow him feel that way when he had anything to say. They were both crippled together. He should know better. However, he wouldn't push this sentiment tonight. The boy wasn't really himself right now.

"Of course not."

Unclipping the many worn straps and buckles, they all flopped to the dirt, and he set it to the side.  _Always in arm's reach_.  _Like death itself_. That's how Hiccup would view it, on the gloomy nights.

Liberated, Hiccup naturally huddled up against Toothless' soft belly. He sighed again, a true decompression this time.

His scales were warm, smooth, and familiar. They were also much softer on his underside compared to Hiccup's customary post on his broad shoulders, which would chafe against his thighs without the saddle. When they first trialed-and-errored in the cove, Hiccup would return home with explainable bloody rashes all along his legs, and he promptly learned that gear would be mandatory to get anywhere with the forbidden alliance (the dragon  _did not_ approve at all, initially). The boy's wiry arms could take a knife to the ebony back and only make a small graze with all his effort put in, he came to learn. It was similar to literal stone. He was a powerful unit without many weaknesses, and Hiccup could feel the robust muscles shifting and coiling underneath him as they walked and flew during chores, even through the saddle. It amazed him most times. However, his belly was like a rocking pillow. It resounded each breathe and heartbeat in lulling rhythms.

Hiccup could never confirm considering he'd never seen another, but he was almost positive his Night Fury was getting a  _little_ pudgy, though. He was a bottomless pit for fish back home, with a not so secret bad habit of raiding the docks every so often, and his abdomen had began to hang so subtly that only Hiccup could notice. He attempted to hint at more self control a few times, but the glutton didn't seem to get the hint yet. Hiccup didn't feel the need to confront him until it was a real problem. Toothless was very prideful. No one had said a word to him about missing fish. Hiccup had simply seen him sleuth away himself a few times.

Hiccup couldn't resist pulling at the basic straps Toothless still had on around his middle. "A little tight?"

"No, I'll keep it on."

He just smiled and rested his head on the bulky shoulder, draping his blanket over himself and as much as Toothless was possible, which wasn't much.

Swelling, falling- the massive, measured breathing had the effect of a cradle and bubbled pleasant feelings he couldn't pinpoint to the surface. Something pure but blurry- innocence, was a word he could label it. The blanket trapped him in the body heat and personal aroma of the reptile, which always hit Hiccup alienly. Even so, Hiccup's existence was choked with disagreeable smells. It wasn't that Toothless smelt bad at all, aside from his breathe, just strange. It was rather intimate for him now. He'd spent many hours against him like this, and the way the dragon curled around him comforted Hiccup like the best, massive embrace. Countless times over their relationship, all of Hiccup's insecurities melted away in seconds in the gesture.

As a matter of fact, this was the position hatchlings would assume with their mother's when they needed solace or sleep, like Toothless would with his mother when he was a child himself. He never told Hiccup to not chip his pride. He admittedly didn't want it to end anytime soon either. There was assurance on both ends, and no shame. These moments stayed between them.

It would have been absolutely fine for Hiccup to just drift right off to sleep right there, like it was already threatening him behind the eyes. That was what Toothless expected, but they both stared into the stars for a few moments. Hiccup could sense something poignant in the air.

"I'm sorry we have to go back tomorrow." Hiccup said.

"Don't ever apologize for that. I have a great life." Toothless said softly, "...I'll admit I wish we could stay a bit longer, but I suppose I always will. I miss the quiet."

"It's very nice. Finding the satisfaction is also nice, but someone is probably missing us by now. We already stretched out this trip."

"After I tore down the rafter, that could be debatable."

"Family is family. Different shapes, different sizes. How do you think I feel, sometimes?"

"I wonder what my kin would think of you."

Toothless didn't talk much about his family, so he had Hiccup's attention.

"Well…" the puny human said, "I have yet to win anyone over with good looks and charm. They would be proud of what you did, no doubt, and I played a part in that. I'd promise not to sing, or anything."

Toothless glanced back at Hiccup whose eyes were closed, a small grin on his face. In the most subtle gesture, he curled his tail quietly around the both of them.

"You'd do fine if you just kept that promise,  _ **Hacspa**_."

" _ **Gardi loof sastr shek**_ _."_

Toothless was pleasantly surprised to hear mastery of those words. "Meatlug is teaching you much, isn't she?"

"Mm," he said before he yawned.

The alcohol was beginning to drown him in the sea of exhaustion now that he was truly comfortable. The rock had nothing on this.

Then Hiccup remembered.

"Wait. Didn't you say you found something interesting?" he peeked through one eye.

"You'll find some satisfaction after all I think. But, it's too dark. I'll show you tomorrow morning. Sound good?" Toothless said.

Toothless head was also resting, so he could only feel the nod.

In a matter of minutes, he was making the soft snores of sleep, forging whatever dream paradise he preferred tonight. The boy looked serene, so he let him sleep with him that night. He would have benefited from stretching his muscles hanging from the tree, but he would accommodate for his human. He might not be able to make the entire flight home tomorrow. He might coyly stretch the trip  _one more_  night, and feign soreness.

He could never get sick of this company.

After an entire day of scrutinizing a piece of the island once again, he was tired too, and excited to hopefully make something of it for Hiccup tomorrow. Toothless was happy to humor his friend when he needed it. This was his catharsis. However, he might have been on to something, once again. He couldn't be sure yet, but they'd leave the discovery for tomorrow, and he let sleep steadily pull him down as well. Nothing disturbed them that night.

There was a passage in the book that Hiccup mentioned to Toothless the morning they left Berk. Finally packed, he flicked through the pages and landed on the desired entry, reading it aloud.

_"'Ku'lvet Rueth is a enigma to the philistine. Consider him non-existent to the dispensable. He must be reciprocated.'" He looked up to Toothless, "What do you think that means? I can't really make sense of it."_

All the while, a golden scale drifted down the stream, right under their noses. It glittered beautifully. And unbeknownst to them, under the sediment deep beneath the water, many sterling jewels hid just out of sight.

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AN: There's a fluffy pillow of content. A guilty pleasure of mine to write. I'd work it into anything I could, probably. But the next chapter will have more dense and interesting plot. I have a cool idea for a conclusion I hope to execute well enough. Hope this was a fun enough read even if nothing really happened. Leave a review!

Dragonese translations (I'm literally typing random sounds up and they mean nothing. Who has time to construct a ridiculous language for a fanfiction :) )-

_**Hacspa-**  _Hiccup's name in Dragonese

_**Gardi loof sastr shek -**_ something along the lines of "Not everyone is a Casanova like you."

2nd AN: Slightly edited both chapters to feel more satisfied with them.


	3. Soma

A/N: Welcome back! I lied again! There's gonna be four chapters. I'm getting carried away with this story. I put off the this fanfic for a few weeks (aside from editing a few things in the first two chapters) and didn't start writing the new chapter until I woke up this morning. So, I spent the entirety of today writing this entire chapter, almost in one sitting. Nearly 8,000 words- revised. I usually let a chapter sit for a while before I post it, so I can look at it from a different perspective. This usually does a story a lot of good.

NOT TODAY THO, HA. I'm pretty proud that I was able to write this all in a day, and I feel I've haven't updated this story in too long already. Screw it! Here you go! Hope you enjoy. Things finally pop off this chapter.

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**Soma**

There was nothing, not even dark. The feeling was unfeeling, without expectation. There was nothing, inside and out. Emptiness, was all that could be.

It was an existence, floating throughout an endless nothing with nothing to give it purchase. It could have been an absolute void, outside of everything- yet, there was no memory to compare what had been or what was or what will be. Nothing existed before, and nothing did. There might had been a tether to something, but it had ceased.  _When?_  Time has no meaning.

What was  _it_? A speck of entity without foundation and purpose. How could it even be? Or was it even a speck? He looked out from it, into the oblivion, like he was a being itself, yet he was without shape, or weight. But, there was no feeling, or anything to give sense of the fact that there was any perception. Sense was a creation. Just because there was consciousness, did that make a life?

What was  _he_? It was just an  _awareness,_ even though it lacked anything to be perceived. It was a singular consciousness, sprung from nothing. Surrounding it, was nothing.

By some kind of miracle, the only thing to exist here was thoughts. However, what would it think in this place? Nothing, really. Because that's all that was. This happened for a unknowable stretch of time. Or maybe everything all happened at once.

Regardless, something  _began_. And it was  _he._  And then, there was something else.

There were two holes. Two slits. They were symmetrical and duplicate. He looked deep into them, and they were consumed with emptiness as well. They looked familiar somehow, but they were wrong. It wasn't what they  _were_. How could he know this?

It had seen this slits so many times, under many circumstances taking many shapes he was familiar with. There should have been anything in there, and it should have flowed with concepts and beliefs known to it. Yet, it didn't, and it was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. He had never seen them this way. He was violated by it. How could there be a void when there shouldn't be to start with?  _What was happening_?

This was the first sense he had felt here.

Suddenly, so many colors flew around it that couldn't be comprehended. It spiraled through a spontaneous storm. There was nothing, then there was everything.

Then, it stopped again. This time, it seemed to be in a real moment. The void was gone. For the first time, he felt tangible.

Only one color existed. Blue. It floated there-  _He_ did. He wasn't floating though, it just felt like it. The ice numbed his knees and stuck the fabric to his skin.

There was terror, cold, and… sadness inside him. No... it was betrayal. He felt betrayed. The blue fire missed him, and he was torn apart. He was more damaged than fire could ever destruct. This was pain he would feel forever.

He wished it didn't miss, however, it did. He was so cold, and the eyes were still empty in front of him. All the feeling disappeared once he realized this. His spirit was snuffed, and that last thread of hope he had died with  _him._

They could never fix this.

Hiccup woke up choking on nothing. He wanted to cry, and tried to understand why. His thoughts were scattered and slipping away like sand funneling down an hourglass. He looked around. The sun had barely broken the horizon, and Toothless was still sleeping next to him. He touched his warm scales, and sighed.

The birds sang their favorite songs around him. The stream flowed cathartically. It was a gorgeous and cool morning welcoming back to reality.

The dream was gone. He couldn't remember feeling upset. He just felt odd. He couldn't place it anymore.

His head was pulsing with the ghost of a hangover. He couldn't believe he'd woken up by himself, and before Toothless the nocturnal weirdo, especially under the circumstance. That happened as often as a full moon. Hiccup wasn't a morning person by nature. He would never be, he thought, not truly. His father woke him up almost every morning until he was twelve, and Hiccup made it a situation every time. Now, nineteen years old and submitted into responsibility, he was forced to a early-riser by his companion- a creature that could be fueled by a fifteen minute nap for the whole day if necessary, and whom was more impatient than a bladder-filled race dog. This creature also didn't take no for an answer when it came to this. Ever. They flew every morning, whether Hiccup was grumpy or not.

Hiccup was not an apex predator, and he was usually in a comatose state after getting drunk. He even remembered drinking the whole canteen last night, which he was pretty impressed with now that he wasn't fighting anyone away that was attempting to rouse him, or sick from poisoning. The turkey must have done him great good, thank the gods.

He felt alert right now. Very ready to be awake and at em', which was great, because they had a long journey home ahead of them. Strangely, he didn't feel particularly rested, if he was honest with himself, but he was alert. Simply put, he didn't want to sleep anymore. This should have been raised questions to him, however, the thought didn't get much light since it hung from a headache that was quickly escalating. If anything, he was mournful to the nice vacation that was about to end.

He had to get ready to leave. To start, he needed water to ward of the consequences of his bad choices threatening him.

Hiccup wanted to quietly stalk away to camp to gather himself and leave the serene, pure face next to him to his peace, despite the futility. Instead he procrastinated one last time, and sat there for just a few more moments, watching him.

Toothless was sleeping deeply, he could tell. There was drool trailing down his mouth, and a booger thickening on his snout. The Great Night Fury, drooling. It was a sight he cherished, oddly enough, because it was a rare occasion to see. The dragon made a little snort, probably having a dream. Hiccup smiled.

The dragon was always maddeningly vigilant in daily life. Even when he took his frequent naps at the blacksmith or literally  _anywhere_ , he never really seemed to be sleeping to Hiccup: he was never surprised by a poke or a pounce when Hiccup snuck up on him, even shifting his tail just right when in danger of getting stepped on without batting an eye. Hiccup couldn't help but notice this. It was amazing, and freaky. He wondered sometimes if he was faking, for some reason. It was nice to see him truly resting, though.

Whenever Hiccup awoke first and his friend was really asleep, his heart felt weak at the thought of bothering him. There was no use though. The moment Hiccup would make a move, the sensitive beast would know, no matter how careful he was, and get up too. It was a supernatural sense of his rider, or a omniscience to the routine sounds of clacks of attaching his prosthetic leg every morning. It woke him up without fail. He felt bad about it, especially now, with his cheeks scrunched up between his paws like that.

He looked up again. In a perfect world, they would have already been in the air, however. They should get going. Hiccup looked back to Toothless and absorbed this moment as well as he could, before cutting it off.

Hiccup reached over and tenderly rubbed his shoulder.

Toothless' eyes shot open, obviously spooked. The was unexpected for Hiccup, as were how constricted his pupils were. Hiccup was shook and pulled his hand back.

"It's okay, buddy. Just me." He soothed.

Toothless found his face, and the blacks swelled up.  _Relief_.

He raised his head, glancing around, then back to him. "You startled me." He said.

"Same to you. Were you having a dream?"

"...Yes…" Toothless said, but looked confused, "Maybe? I don't remember…"

Toothless peered up at the sky. He let out a disgruntled huff. "Dammit. It's late. We should have left already. How did I sleep so l-"

At that, Hiccup watched the slobber that was dancing on his chin slide off and land on his paw. Toothless noticed this, and glanced at Hiccup, embarrassed. He promptly cleaned his face.

Hiccup chuckled, and began putting his leg on. He was in a good mood, now.

"You must have needed it. I'll pull everything together real quick. Just give me a few minutes." Hiccup got up and stretched. Climbing the hill, he looked back, "And you have something to show me, right?"

Toothless was reminded of the cave.  _Shit. He should have definitely been up earlier._ Toothless quickly accepted his reality, and began to stretch as well.  _A promise is a promise. "_ Oh _._  Right. Just make it quick and we'll see."

"Alright, alright." Hiccup waved his hand dismissively, then he was out of sight. Toothless heard the tinkering of the kettle.

Toothless was only getting a grip of being awake again. He didn't understand why he so anxious already. It wasn't normal. Now that Hiccup wasn't next to him, it intensified. It was just the two of them here, he was sure of it. Yet the feeling remained, like a danger looming overhead. Was he still tired?

The dragon felt odd. He got up and tried to shake it off, starting into camp. It was nothing. A nightmare, maybe.

* * *

**_########_ **

Hiccup did his best to move as quick as possible. And he did. The camp was mostly packed in under ten minutes. Given the fact they packed light, Hiccup wasn't stressing it, even when his dragon seemed to be. He could sense it. This wasn't abnormal. He could be a huge ball of stress sometimes.

Hiccup folded up his hammock. Before shoving it in his bag, he recounted all his belongings to double check. This was the right thing to do, because he was missing some silverware. He looked back and saw them tossed carelessly near the fire. He had drunk Hiccup to thank for this. He shook his head and rounded everything up. As he walked back to his bag, his attention was seized.

There was something glinting at him in the ashes of the fire. He shoved the silverware into his bag. Looking in, he was sure he had everything now. So what was that?

He stared at the ashes, not able to make it out. Was he forgetting something? It looked impossibly shiny for anything he took along with him on the trip. What could it have been? Not anything that belonged to him. He was very curious now.

He made his way to the long dead hearth and crouched over it. Hiccup examined the remains closely. The ashes were white and cold. And… moist.

…Weird. That was all Hiccup thought.

Hiccup didn't understand this. It didn't rain a drip lost night, did it? Well, as far as he knew it didn't. There was no dew or fresh smells or any tell tale signs of rainfall. His belongings were perfectly dry as well. Nonetheless, the fire bed was wet, but only in the center.

Hiccup looked up. The trees branched drooped high overhead. It was possible an animal of some kind urinated maybe? From a branch? There were no footprints except theirs around, and an animal would have had to do this very recently. That's the only explanation Hiccup could come up with. It didn't smell as though, however.

Toothless was perched on one of the high branches. His wings were extended to each side of him. He was testing the currents.

Hiccup stared back down. Buried directly in the center was something extremely vivid looking, and large. The mud grime covered most of it. It gleamed fiercely at an angle, but now that Hiccup was looking straight down at it, all he could make of it up close was a vague shape, really. It didn't gleam anymore. Still, it seemed so vivid to him- the dirty shape. This puzzled the boy, and peaked his interest deeply. He reached for it.

His thumb wiped across the surface, revealing a scintillating gemstone under the mud, and pain shot through his finger.

He hissed, coiling back.  _It was still hot!_

He wiped his thumb against his pants quickly and stuck it in his mouth. There was anticipation of dull pain and inflammation. He waited. Soon, he pressed the pad to this crooked teeth.

Instead, there was more confusion. The sensation was very real, he felt the pain of a burn. Then, it wasn't. The pain was gone. He pushed down on where he felt it, and there was nothing. It was fine.

He looked at his finger. No burn.

He was wholly boggled.

He felt something like a burn,  _really_ felt it. And now, it wasn't there, like it had never been at all. He stared at his thumb for a moment longer. It was absolutely fine. Just a fleshy, healthy thumb.

Did he imagine it? How could he imagine that? The pain was sharp and startled him. It didn't make any sense. Yet, His finger was fine, and the firepit was as still cool as the summer air. It couldn't have hurt him, yet it did. Only for a second.

Did his muscle switch unnaturally or something, and cause him pain? It seemed too coincidental. Regardless, he looked at the stone, and knew he'd never seen anything like it.

It astonished him. He saw a breathtaking turquoise color through the grime.

Being cautious, Hiccup collected a thick rag and retrieved the object with it, careful not to directly touch it. He felt no heat through the fabric. He supposed he was mistaken.

Wiping it off as well as he could, he found a giant, beautiful, excellent gemstone he could barely wrap his hand around. It glittered up at him through the muck, making his heart beat fast.

What? Actually, it was  _flawless._ Hiccup could hardly believe it. It was absolutely untarnished. If he could rinse it off, he knew he would find a precious stone, like it was already cut and polished by an expert. This was unbelievable.

He had never seen a stone like it. He wasn't familiar with gems, truthfully. He knew many people back home would be though, and he was ecstatic to get an answer. It was so many shades of brilliant blue and a yellow-sandy color. It was a… beige, he decided. Turquoise and beige.

A sapphire? No, it couldn't be that. Amber? No, not that either. A… geode of some kind? He wasn't sure. It seemed like something very special, if he was honest.

It reminded Hiccup of ice encasing a deep, boundless sea, beyond measure and understanding, and a beach during sunrise. They complemented each other wonderfully.

As he imagined that, the stone did feel colder through the fabric. He knew he was imagining it. The adrenaline was getting to him.

Hiccup couldn't drop the fact that this just wasn't possible. He found a impossible gem inside his fire, the one he built from scratch himself. He didn't mistake this for a regular stone when building the pit, no way, and it was also directly in the center, separated from the fortification of every other rock. He didn't set it there. He didn't  _build_ the fire around it without seeing it. Was it inside a tree branch last night that burnt to ash, dropping there? How and why? Did a animal piss  _this_  out? This was preposterous.

As far as Hiccup could tell, the stone had simply appeared.

He stood there holding it, watching it. It looked like a treasure dropped from Valhalla. He couldn't be sure until he cleaned it. He felt alien in its presence.

The gem could leave spots in his vision if he stared too long at it. It was perfect.

"Are you ready?" Toothless called down.

"Uh-" Hiccup struggled to respond, "Will you come down here?" He called back.

The tree shook, and Toothless had glided down on the other side of the campfire, shaking himself off.

"The winds are good. We should leave as soon as possible before it gains temperament. I apologise but I'd like to hurry. Gear us up and I'll show you something real quick." Toothless said and readied himself for the saddle.

Hiccup made no move for the saddle, and made no response. This puzzled Toothless. The dragon stared at the human, and the human stared at a rag in his hands.

"Hiccup." Toothless said, slightly irritated.

"Are you messing with me?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless was right perplexed at that.  _What was the boy on about now?_

"Would you please elaborate on that?" Toothless asked, raising a brow.

Hiccup looked at him. Toothless could tell he was scanning his face for something, but he had know idea what the human was searching for. He stared back.

Hiccup seemed to realize this, and looked back to the rag. He shook his head. "I don't understand. Look at this."

Hiccup came to his side and showed the contents of his hands.

Toothless grunted, truly surprised. "It's very nice. Where did you get that?"

"From our fire." He stated, staring at him intensely.

Toothless was confused. "...Our fire?"

"Yes." he stated.

"How did you miss that?" Toothless smirked.

"How did  _I_  miss it?" Hiccup exasperated, "How did  _you_?"

"You built the fire, kid."

"We were both here. It couldn't have been missed, yet it was. Look.  _How_ did we miss this? It's dazzling and great and  _huge._ Please explain this to me." He gestured to the giant stone.

Toothless craned his head, considering, then looked back to the gem. "It is very pretty. And big." he observed plainly.

"Yeah, I know." Hiccup said, then shook the thing fervidly, as if it would reveal something about it, "I don't get it. It was just… there. In the middle of the pit. It was wet too."

"Wet? What do you mean?" Hiccup didn't appreciate the incredulous look.

"I'm not sure. It was. It didn't rain, right?"

"No." Toothless had to scoff at this.

"And you are  _not_  screwing with me?" Hiccup jabbed a finger at him.

With a roll of the eyes, Toothless said, "And no. Listen, the both of us must have overlooked it, as ridiculous as it sounds, Hiccup. Let's just accept that and be excited. Are you not excited to find this?"

"Well, of course! It could be a priceless gem! I've never seen one like it. But, it doesn't make sense! I don't believe we missed this!  _Our fire_. Are you positive no one has been here but us?" He was exasperated.

Toothless was at a loss for words for a second. "Alright. You are being absolutely dramatic right now. Do you think someone would come by and just drop a jewel for us or something? Of course no one was here. You are talking to a  _dragon_. Think about it."

Hiccup huffed. He could feel his face heat up. Toothless was right. He didn't know what he was getting at by affirming that. He was just confused.

"Doesn't that just… weird you out though? What's the word for it…  _ **schlept**_?" He looked up at Toothless, wrestling his tongue on that one. "That it just appeared. Are you not curious?"

"I'd rather get going." He deadpanned.

Hiccup sighed, annoyed. "Huh. You can be a wall sometimes. You know that?"

Toothless snorted, then butted him in the back. " _Please,_ _ **Hacspa**_."

"Whatever. Sorry." He shoved the stone in his pocket, then grabbed the saddle and started strapping them up.

" _ **Grat mes den**_." Toothless stated smoothly, almost singing, if a dragon could (that brought an up an interesting question for Hiccup:  _could they_?) "What does that mean?"

The boy grumbled, " _We'll all soar on_."

Toothless smiled, and ruffled his human's hair with his snout. "Consider it a blessing from your Gods."

* * *

**_########_ **

They banked low again, just above the treeline. Many different birds exploded from the thick foliage, terrified and upset. They squawked angrily and dispersed behind Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup stared back and watched.

Their silhouettes were tough to make out from the glow of the sun, until they faded entirely to his human eyes, until they were just colorful leaves and the sort. The sun had almost half way split from the edge of the earth. Hiccup knew this from the soft hue of the clear sky above him, even though the sun itself was hidden behind the thicket of high standing branches.

It was behind him where Berk was- a dozen-or-so hours flight in all. Directly ahead of them, the night was fading. He could find only a few stars. They already wouldn't make it back to Berk before nightfall.

They had only been in the air for a few minutes, and were soaring over the same island they had camped on. To the right, Hiccup could see the next island of the archipelago.

"Hey, bud. You're the driver here, so I would understand if you didn't think this little thing was worth it now that we're running late. We can just head home."

"Homesick,  _ **drakling**_?" The dragon teased.

"No. If you really plan to get there in one flight, it would take all day. I know that isn't easy on you." Hiccup said.

"To be transparent, you're right. We might have to take a break eventually. But I don't mind this." he stated.

"If I feel you are pushing yourself too hard today, we will settle down for the night, and go again tomorrow. I don't care what you say. We don't need another ' _is he caring for you?_ ' meeting."

Toothless laughed. "Do you think I would complain? One more day of vacation for me. Aye-aye, captain."

Hiccup scoffed, "Snake. Well, are you sure you want to head this way?"

Toothless' croon reverberated through Hiccup. "Do not worry, my fishbone. It's not far. Actually, it's just down... here!"

Hiccup clicked the pedal instinctively and Toothless masterfully tucked into a part in the branches, caressing Hiccup with nothing but leaves and a breeze.

Hiccup didn't expect this, and watched the trees flow by, mesmerized by all the angles and shapes and colors that he couldn't individually make out.

He shivered with a good stimulation nonetheless. It was like an illusion to stare into the passing growth. He felt like he was melting into it. This should have made him motion sick, but it didn't. Some were so close, nearly hitting him but never doing so, layered over everything beyond that. He made an effort to keep his vision still, and the result was a view of infinite depth, infinite color. A living, stirring sea of pure perception. It was amazing.

He appreciated this tremendously, moments like this, because even other dragon riders wouldn't experience flights like theirs. Toothless saw an opening in the trees no other dragon would, and his unmatched grace carried them through.

This, Hiccup prided in immensely. Even as a cripple, Toothless was the best set of wings either of them knew. And truthfully, Hiccup was part of that. They were one unit, making this happen. He carried this pride into his walking as well. He was pretty good at that now too.

They watched the ground reach them, and Toothless bounded a few times. Once they came to a stop, they were in a clearing. Toothless looked back at the rider.

Hiccup could tell he was proud of his show. He patted his shoulder in acknowledgement.

"This it?" Hiccup asked.

"Mhm. It's up ahead, in that cave. I came upon it while hunting yesterday. It has… stuff in it."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Stuff, huh?"

Toothless shrugged coyly, "You will like it. First, however, I need to relieve myself."

"Oh! Sure." Hiccup quickly fumbled off his back, "Sorry, bud."

Toothless just shook his head, obviously amused with the reaction. He sniffed at the entrance of the cave. "Just stay here until I get back, okay? Don't go in." he commanded, heading into the trees.

Hiccup groaned. "You  _torture_  me! You're the one who called me dramatic earlier." He called out, "You don't trust me or what?"

"Says the who's red-faced at the concept of ' _wizzing_ '!" The words echoed through the trees, " _I know you are right now! Stay there!_ "

Hiccup turned away, looking to the way that was gestured to the cave. "Whatever." He muttered.

It was pitch dark in the cave. There was no way to see anything inside from where he was standing. This bugged him, but he understood. Toothless probably wanted to share the moment, that's all. Nature worked in inconvenient ways. Hiccup sighed.

He would wait.

Looking around, there was nothing of significance. There was a huge wall with a cave on one side. This was established. The clearing he was in was dull and consumed by weeds. The dead-looking grass rose to his calves all around him, apparently untouched by anything other than their own footsteps- the growth was unconcerned, like all the wildlife was with this clearing as well. There was nothing here, other than a small pond behind Hiccup. This didn't seem to concern any animals either, since no compressions spotted around it. No one even wanted the clean water.

The pond was about a dozen paces away from the mouth of the cave. Surrounding the pond, was a few lone flowers. They looked like orchids. Hiccup liked those. That's the only thing that interested him. That should have been a tasty treat for any grazing herbivores.

Toothless had ditched him in the most boring place imaginable, leaving the only thing worthwhile out of reach by his command. This was great, he thought.  _Thanks, bud. I'll just twiddle my thumbs in agony while you take a lifetime. As usual._

He kicked at a patch of dirt, plopped down on his butt, and proceeded to draw things into it. He yawned deeply.

 _Oh, wait!_ How could he forgot?

Hiccup recognized the unfamiliar pressure in his pocket, and pulled out the balled up rag. He unwrapped it.  _His sweet savior._

It was still filthy. The mud was dry and flaking now, blotching the surface of the gem. Since he had the time, he could wash it. It was practically begging to be, at the look of it. How could such beauty be unappreciated?

It was cruel to leave it in such a way, he thought with mirth. He do best to be more sure of what he now had in his possession.

Hiccup still couldn't help the hesitation of touching it. Quickly, he pushed that down and pressed the pad of his index finger to the broad side. It was warm, from being pressed to his side for so long. He felt silly. His finger must had twitched or something before.

He stood up and crouched at the water's edge. Dunking the gem in the water, his fingers met the cold liquid. It numbed his fingernails and sent his hands buzzing. Hiccup shuddered, then continued sinking his hand until his forearms were submerged as well. He rinsed the stone in the pond, rolling and scrubbing it over in his hands. It dazzled back at him gratefully.

The dirt floated off and spiraled into the frigid currents, unveiling more and more of the stunning jewel. His hands tingled intensely. It was wholly untarnished. He really couldn't believe it. It almost molded with the fluidity of the water because it was so clear. If it wasn't for the beige spliced inside the gem, he would be afraid it would slip from his fingers accidentally and drift to the bottom, unable to be found again. He carefully scrubbed it until all the grime had abandoned it.

He swore it could be the pure essence of the freezing sea foaming against a sandy shore. A greater power captured the spirit of this tranquility and hardened it into a dazzling mineral he could cup in his palm. It brought such profound imagery to him, and it made Hiccup love it even more. How could he be so lucky to have this just  _fall_  onto him? It was a perfect chunk of earth cut out by Aegir himself.

He pulled it from the water and crouched over it, tossing it back and forth in his hands. His palms were numb, yet would buzz pleasurably at the contact of the stone, like holding hands with someone warmer than you. It seemed to respond to the thought and warm up even more. Hiccup clasped it hard between both hands. It was rock solid.

He knew he could sell this for a generous sum of gold. It checked out on all fronts as far as he could tell.  _The real deal._  All it would take confronting a trader was a glance and it was first-sight. Hiccup had a silver tongue as well, he wasn't ashamed to admit. He could get someone to buy it, and get  _a lot_ for it _._

However, he wasn't sure if he wanted to sell it. He loved mementos, and kept many. Since he didn't find a fantastic dragon this trip, he could walk away with this instead. Meeting a dragon was always amazing to him. He lived for it lately. But he didn't, sadly. Also, this was tangible.

Knowledge and experience was power, and money was happiness. That was what Johann mentioned to him one day.

That was a fair trade, he thought. He'd see how much he could get out of it, then consider it.

Suddenly, the stone was cold. It was still caged between his hands.

Strange, he thought. It should be absorbing the heat. Why'd it get so cold?

He examined it once again.

This stone had strange qualities. It was absolutely cold. He wasn't imagining it. It was just as warm as sunbathed obsidian before. Now it was as cold as the water he dunked it in.

_Strange, indeed._

He raised it into the air above him, attempting to catch some light to examine it further.

Sunlight licked his fingertips and the crest of the gem. It glinted beautifully. He realized he hadn't seen it in direct sunlight yet. He stood up into the rays of the sun peaking through the trees, catching one ray on the stone. It glittered brilliantly, making him squint.  _Wow_ , he thought. This stone was something special.

He strained his eyes, trying to focus. For some reason, it almost stung to watch the light infract inside of it. His eyes slowly adjusted.

It was mind-blowing. What he saw were rainbows, so many, wisping inside it, like he'd never seen in anything before. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Was he simply indulging himself on his proposed luxury? He needed to sober up, because he thought he could see colors he didn't know existed. What kind of thoughts were that?  _Relax, Hiccup, just look at it. Look deep inside._

He gasped.  _What kind of rock was this_? There  _were_ rainbows dancing inside it. It raged like countless storms of color, mesmerizing him totally. It took his breath away. He couldn't imagine this in a dream.

He stole himself quickly and looked around, leaving the gem in the air. He was alone, and this wasn't a dream.  _Gods, did he eat something bad? He was having visions. This couldn't be real._

_It was._

Hiccup peered back inside the gem. The colors twisted and curled. And then, it seemed to pulsate. Like… an organism. It looked alive. It contracted and flared rhythmically. Hiccup watched it in the light, all the way.

Hiccup couldn't deny that he was a bit freaked out at this point. He was watching this stone he found play on his sight with illusions that he couldn't compare to anything else. This wasn't a trick of the light, or the strange properties of a certain mineral. It was  _stranger_  than that. It looked like something was inside of it, and he didn't notice this until it was in the light, yet he should have. The colors looked more and more like a mass as he inspected it. Something was inside. Maybe it  _was_  amber? This had been a living thing at some point, encased in this hard, beautiful rock? Hiccup tilted and angled it in the light ray, trying different angles. The illusion of something inside was still there. He was convinced of it now.

It reminded Hiccup of a womb.

_**It is.** _

Hiccup stopped.

Why did he think that? He didn't confirm himself. Well, he wasn't trying to. It sounded like a conversation in his head.

_My thoughts are mine._

_**And these are mine.** _

Then, without warning, he was startled by a phenomenon he couldn't have anticipated.

The colors constricted once again, not making any sense in the light, and then something astonishing sprung forth.

Colors combusted and a shaft of light speared out from it, shooting just over Hiccup's head. Hiccup was amazed he didn't drop it from sheer shock. He dropped his head from the ludicrous brightness of the light his eyes weren't prepared for. His mind raced but covered no ground. Following initial shock, confusion and fear kept him frozen in place, keeping the gem high in the air, and the beam stayed there, holding fast.

Eventually, he peaked up. Once again, he'd never seen anything like it. It was like Odin had tore a seam in the fabric of reality.  _There is a blinding light beam flying just over head, erecting just from the stone in my left hand. It is there, and it seemed very dangerous._

_**Oh, it is, human.** _

He was speechless and had to avert his gaze after a second. He could feel it burn his eyes. It was so bright, possibly brighter than the sun in the sky. It definitely affected him more. As a child, he was told that staring into the sun could damage your sight forever, so he took that advice in this moment. He didn't look at the beam, however, he  _felt_  it. It was hot on his head and shoulders, and it was very real. Hiccup trembled.

 _What in_ Gods many names _was this?_ He couldn't even think straight anymore.  _What the Hel was this?_

There wasn't enough light in the entire sky to be focused into such an intense beam. There wasn't enough light in the ray he found between the leaves, specifically, to make this happen. He was positive that any technology that existed wasn't capable of doing producing what he was seeing, not even a technology to make a new light at all within itself. This was work of something he didn't understand.

He didn't know what to make of it. He was scared to make anything of it. What if this new unknown would be his demise and this would be his last thought? What if this was his single last thought of his life? He wished he could feign melodramatic, yet this was something total new unknown to him. Now, anything was possible. This could be his last thought.

Rather than dwelling on the concept, Hiccup decided he would continue holding it high. He thought if he dropped it from his hand like he dearly wanted to, the beam would pass through him, and he didn't want to imagine what would happen then. So, he held it high, the light warming his torso, a statue of terror.

_**Keep it right there, boy. Yes. Right where I want it.** _

Hiccup's hand felt fine. He couldn't look to see it. He trusted it was fine. He had to. Panicking was not an option right now. He needed to think. He was faced with a spontaneous life-threatening situation and all he had to do was think it through. He'd done stuff like this before.

_**You've done much, haven't you? Very impressive, for something like you.** _

This thought was alien. He wanted to believe he was having a inner-dialogue with himself, yet this thought  _slithered_  into his head. He wasn't sure what it meant to him when he decided this thought wasn't truly his. It was someone else's. He had to prioritize what was important, and he decided this wasn't at the moment. It couldn't be important.

He was playing with something no one had ever seen. That much was clear. He was standing here helpless holding presumed death above his head and would bring down his own guillotine if he made the wrong move. In simple terms, all he really had to do was… not do that.

That was action one. He had succeeded. Now, it was time for action two. What was action two? Well, maybe he could make sense of this nonsense? That wasn't too far fetched, right? What could he do to make sense of this and survive.

Nonono- he didn't have to make sense of it. All he had to was  _survive._  That's all. Simple. So, what would he do?

Hiccup's head was empty. Shot with fear. Fear was the mind killer. He labored his breathing, and attempting thinking again.

_**Indeed, it is. There is wisdom in you.** _

He needed to ignore it.

Toothless. He could call for help.

"Tooth-" he shook out, " _less! TOOTHLESS!"_

_**Your friend? I wonder, why do you think of him this way?** _

He craned his neck looking back. There was no immediate response. Hiccup tried not worry about this. His dragon was just going to the bathroom, therefore, he didn't roam far. It was logical to believe he was in earshot of a blood-curdling scream and was promptly on his way back now. Maybe he would take a moment. Maybe his friend wasn't convinced this was a life-or-death situation yet. This was a logical assumption. Continue with the logical assumptions, Hiccup. This is good.

Continuing with this holy thought pattern, Hiccup, for the first time, wondered where this beam of light was ending up. He also wondered what would happen if he attempted to angle the gem any other direction. However, he was too afraid to do that. He needed to see what the beam was doing before he could make a move.

_**This is very logical. Good boy. Look at it.** _

_Shut up._

Hiccup craned his head further back. He squinted, not to look directly at it. It hurt pretty bad to trace the light. He decided to do so through closed eyes. The beam penetrated his lids still, and once he couldn't twist his neck any further, he peaked, trying to find the end of the light.

The shaft of light tapered to the circumference of a charcoal pencil. It was basically a perfectly straight shaft of lightning frozen in time. That was the best sense Hiccup could make of it. What amazed Hiccup more, was the fact that it pierced marvelously into the cave, illuminating it very well.

This reminded Hiccup of a story he'd never read. A story about Gods, mortals, and magic. The main character was him.

His mouth was agape. He could see strange things on the walls of the cavern, but he couldn't be sure anymore. There were sunspots smearing his vision everywhere. His eyes could have been playing tricks on him. This hit Hiccup as a sickeningly ironic thought. Considering he was holding a stone that was likely (what was likely now?) focusing soft light into a beam so intense no technology was capable of, hey thought  _his eyes were playing tricks on him_?

What was he supposed to think now?

This was the magic of Gods'. That was all he had.

 _Where the_ Hel _was Toothless_?

_**Such interesting thoughts, human. You are very special. I can tell and I already knew this. Your friend is special as well. I simply wonder, how deep do you think your blood runs?** _

Hiccup ignored this.

 _**You two changed your world. You two, alone. Do you think your Gods are proud of you? Do you think** _ **his _Gods accept what you did? Who do you think you did this for? Have you ever questioned the nature of the reality you have forced?_**

Hiccup was proud of what they achieved. He was proud of who his friend had become everyday. He was  _so_ proud. Life was better now. This was only a voice. It had nothing on him. It had no right to pass judgement on his people.

_**I am not interested in your drove, human. I am interested in only the both of you.** _

He realized he was a window. Everything was in view. What was this voice inside him?! Was he losing his mind? Everything was so wrong!

_**What you have done is forbidden. The truth you made wasn't how it was told.** _

How it was told? What did that mean? He made the choices to get here. How could it know?

_**That doesn't matter. What matters now is what we can make of this. You are a variable in this stagnant world, and I want to see how far it can really reach. What are you truly capable of, do you think?** _

He wasn't sure anymore.

 _**That's why it's you that dominates. I have seen how this relationship began, and the supposed end. You are still a child. You cannot imagine the ramifications. You can't imagine what will happen between you. I do not care for the prophecy. You are much more interesting. Prove me** _ **wrong** _**, Hiccup. I enjoy this.** _

He began shaking uncontrollably.

_**Listen carefully now, human. At this rate, you are a seed drifting in the summer wind, high up and glowing, but you will crash down, Hiccup. You will crash so very hard.** _

Where was Toothless?

_**You will be wasted on a dead earth you thought you knew. A beautiful tragedy. You will die before you bloom and let down everyone you love day by day until you are nothing once again. Remember that? Yes you do. Your fate is a very Hel of your worst nightmares, and you can do nothing to change it. No one can, this time. Love is stronger than fate. Do you understand?** _

_No._

_**It will all be Toothless' fault. He will ruin you. Do you understand?** _

_"No! You are LYING!"_ Hiccup screamed.

_**Your choices are yours, human. You are correct about that. You will decide what must be done after the fact.** _

"Toothless would never hurt me." he whispered desperately.

_**I don't think he would either. But, he will.** _

That didn't make any sense. Nothing was making sense.

**_I will show you a glimpse._ **

Hiccup went blind and his face began to burn with infernal heat. He began to remember his dream from last night. It forced its way into his head.

He saw the slits. He felt the nothingness. There were many colors. Reflecting, he could see all these visions in the stone. He was staring at them the entire time since he'd found it. It was as if his eyes weren't open to it. Now, they were. And it all became clear.

It was showing him something he didn't want to see.

Hiccup began feeling faint. The stress caught up with him, and black dots began swimming in his vision. Strength drained from his limbs and cohesive thoughts poured out of his head. He was falling.

Hiccup lowered the stone. The beam of light ceased. He hit the floor with a hard thud, taking deep, torrential gasps of air. He didn't notice the stone slip from his fingers, and plop into the pond before him.

He felt his face being prodded.

"Hiccup!" Toothless roared, concern jerking his every movement, "What's wrong? What happened?"

He didn't know how long he drifted off for.

Hiccup blinked a few times. He was still out of it, but he could see Toothless, staring down at him. The Night Fury was terrified. Hiccup could count on three fingers how many times he saw that expression on Toothless' face.

Toothless butted his cheek again. "Are you okay?" he asked urgently.

"Wh-where were you?" Hiccup asked weakly. He felt sick, like he ran around a loop a million times. He didn't notice yet that he was crying.

He was so happy to see Toothless.

"I was just over there, but- but I got disoriented!" he sputtered, looking around wildly, "Well, I don't know how!  _I was just over there!_ I tried to find my way back, and then i heard your scream, and i tried to follow it, but it didn't lead me to you! I don't know what happened. I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I-  _I'm sorry._  Are you alright?"

Toothless moaned his last words. He was obviously very shaken up. So was Hiccup, once he began recollecting why he was on the grass again.

Jerking forward, Hiccup ignored all his sickness and pulled Toothless into a tight, frantic hug. "I'm so scared, buddy." he cried. He didn't know what else to do.

"Hiccup, it's  _okay._ _What happened_? Are you hurt." Toothless nosed his face and wiped his tears fiercely. He'd never seen Hiccup in this way.

"Magic." He managed, clutching him tighter. He couldn't believe what he was saying. He sank to the side, and Toothless supported him.

This worried Toothless more. " _What_? Hiccup, you  _need_ to tell me what happened. Look at me."

He did. Hiccup searched his eyes. They were everything he knew and loved. The voice couldn't know these things. Hiccup knew more than anyone.

The eyes stared back with boundless passion as well. "I don't know, Toothless. It was magic. I swear I don't know. I'm sorry." Hiccup focused on breathing.

Toothless let this sink in. His eyes condensing into even tighter slits. There was something over us. Something unnatural. Hiccup could feel it looming.

He let go and stared at the dragon- his rock. He was jerky in his movements. He did that when he was overstimulated. Hiccup saw disbelief.

Toothless moved to sniff at his head. Hiccup was getting a grip again. He was aware that Toothless was looking for head injury. The human was talking mad.

He grabbed his friends bulky head and found his gaze once again, forcing his eyes mere inches away from his. They stared at each other in unfathomable dread.

Hiccup spoke tightly, "Toothless. I didn't hit hit my head. I fainted because I was hyperventilating. I was really stressed. The stone- it-  _something_ \- isn't right, bud. Please, listen to me. I'm fine, but I think we're in danger. We need to leave Toothless. We need to leave now."

"Okay. It's okay Hiccup." Toothless tried to comfort, but it was useless in his own state, "What about the stone?"

Hiccup looked past his friend, where he dropped it.

The stone had fallen into the water. He just knew it. He knew it because the pond was  _boiling._  The heretofore stillness of the lake was vibrating in a sickening, blurry motion.

The stone was magic. Something was coming from the pond now. Was it going to bloom into deadly light once again?!

He cried out, stumbling back onto his ass. He grabbed onto one of Toothless' straps and pulled as hard as he could.

"Get back, Toothless! There's something in the pond! Hurry, get back! It's the-"

They covered a few paces before a mass exploded from the water. They both looked in alarm.

Breaching the water was a massive, shimmering shape. They were soaked in the brisk water, sucking the breath from Hiccup's lungs. It looked to be made of gold.

It was a creature. It was twice the width and thrice the depth, yet it  _emerged_  from the pond. Nothing was making sense anymore. It felt like he entered a fever-dream reality. It had to be a dream. Hiccup saw the bottom of the pond. It was only mud and plants. There was nothing there. It rose from it.

No. This was real. They needed to leave this island before it was too late.

Hiccup couldn't speak. It wasn't possible, yet it stood in front of him. It seemed to be a dragon. A shimmering, beautiful, enormous dragon. He knew immediately what it was, but simply couldn't believe it. Gems showered down, following the torrent of water. They bounced off his skin and Toothless' scales. The dragon landed between them, taking position between them and the pond it was birthed from.

Hiccup stared up, and it stared straight into Hiccup. He couldn't comprehend what was  _seeing_  him. He was transfixed by its gaze.

It's eyes flashed between every color imaginable, constantly shifting and waving and flooding:  _blue, grey, red, green, pink, brown, purple, red, orange, black, blue._ It didn't even flinch when Toothless found his roar, trying to take its attention. He was frozen momentarily by its arrival as well.

"That's not a dragon." Hiccup breathed out.

The dragon darted forward, and Hiccup's world was sideways, flying by quickly.

He hit the hard floor, rolling. Every part of him that found surface tore open at the harsh contact. There was sizzling pain all over. He couldn't breathe from the impact at his side.

He choked, focusing his eyes on the light ahead of him. His vision was swimming again.

It was the mouth of the cave. He had landed inside. He saw the dragon pinning Toothless to the ground. Toothless was struggling, but couldn't escape the grasp. It seemed the dragon wasn't tearing into him yet. It was just speaking to him. Oh gods, what was it saying?

The boy attempted to get up. He couldn't. He needed to puke. He tried to cry out. He didn't have the capacity yet. He rolled over, doing his best to smother the sickness.

The cave had been lit. He didn't know when that happened. There was a torch in the back, illuminating the dank walls.

Hiccup saw drawings covering every inch of the interior, from the floor to the ceiling. He was coughing into text below him. It was done in charcoal, he could tell. At least he thought he could. It smeared easily. It was a language he'd never seen before. It seemed to go all the way down the cavern. He didn't know who could have done this.

Interrupting the endless texts, were strange illustrations. Drawings of dragons and men.

Hiccup realized after a moment, that they were of him. Toothless and him.  _All of them_. There were so many drawing, and they were  _all of them_. He didn't understand, but he knew they were.

There was a drawing of the both of them in the cove. He was putting on Toothless' prosthetic tail fin. It was a memoir of the first day he attached it.

He should have been scared. He couldn't feel anything though. He rush of numbness washed over Hiccup.

He looked up. The Ku'lvet Rueth was looking at him. It was beckoning him with a paw, the other holding down his best friend. His paw was different than any he'd ever seen. He could tell at a distance that his first digit was opposable, like a human thumb.

He didn't want to talk to any other magical beings tonight.

* * *

A/N: Hopefully posting this hot out the oven wasn't a mistake! It seems fine. I'll check it out in a few days.

At one point writing this, I was hating every part of it. I was considering completely rewriting the entire story from beginning to end, revising the chain of events in a way I thought I liked better. Let's be honest though: if that's my thought process, the problem is that I'm obviously taking this too seriously. We are all here for fun! I'm not meticulously outlining the entire body of work before I set the pen to paper. Not at all. I'm winging it every step of the way, seeing where it takes me. When I realized that, I revised the chapter again. AND, it came out much better. This is solely because I was having fun with it, and not worrying about it. My true weapon and tool is FUN. WOO. Take this advice and wield it well other aspiring writers. HAVING FUN IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR WRITING. FORCE FUN. I'm getting delirious after staring at my computer screen for 12 hours. I need to leave and sleep now.

I'm having fun writing this, and I hope you are having fun reading it. Please read a review and tell me what you think. I'll be back soon with the conclusion :) if anyone recognizes the cover photo, mad props


	4. Myth

A/N: Hey there! Change of plans again, and hopefully it'll be something you will be excited for! Shorter chapter this time. Hope you enjoy :)

* * *

**Myth**

Hiccup soaked in the situation for a few more seconds, as well as he was able. Employing his reasoning and problem-solving abilities with his current circumstances was comparable to trying to blow thick honey through a straw with no end in sight. He could barely stay on his feet. He didn't know what had churned his mind so much exactly, but his head pulsed like it was being smashed between two boulders, and all the pressure inside was going to erupt from his temples. This wasn't good at all. There was a need to puke, and so he did. He felt no shame. It helped with his nausea a bit, clearing him up ever so slightly.

Hiccup knew this could be life or death. He needed to pull himself together, whether it was possible or not. It was also a matter of as quickly as possible, but he couldn't even form words if he wanted to yet.

He was waiting until his equilibrium leveled only enough to walk again. He couldn't see straight yet. Images crossed and mingled in puddles of colors. He gripped the loose dirt at the entrance of the cave and sucked in darling air. Feeling was returning to his fingertips and tongue. He thought he could hear Toothless wail again, but it was distant and obscured in sickness. He felt at his head where there was no dangerous injury as far as he could tell, and then he moved his hand to his chest, clutching his painfully thrashing heart. He couldn't sense his heart was even beating before this, and now that senses were finally beginning to align with his mind and matter, he was comforted by the seizing pain, even though he felt that the pace was so rapid it was on the edge of ceasing entirely. He knew this was possible- many people had dropped dead in the heart of battle due to sudden heart failure, but he let this thought roll down his bloody back like water. Hiccup had the power to will this potential away, and he trusted this deeply. He breathed, and his heart began to promptly steady. Still insanely accelerated, but steady. This was all that was needed, and Hiccup was proud of himself. More vital sensations rushed into being in result.

His head still felt in pieces, however. Hiccup forced another painful wheeze, and maintained his dogged stare ahead as the dead, yellow plain weaved blurrily in his vision. Each breathe felt more important than the last.  _Just focus. Focus._

There was a shape of fabulous color in the center of the field, paling in comparison the field of dead grass around him. Hiccup was not fooled by this. Under the mountain of gold, was a lump of ebony.

Playing the game in front of him with a full hand wasn't an option: Hiccup was forced to square this with himself. He'd be given no more luxuries today, and the one that could have been defined as such was a lie, so he supposed he didn't get any at all. The gem he'd thought he'd been graced with spawned a strikingly uncanny beast, for reasons he couldn't explain or even comprehend yet. This didn't change how it was real. Hiccup knew what he saw. He knew he had to confront it now.

His experiences as a nine-teen year old young man didn't provide him the artillery to expect anything that had happened in this field today, and his brain was boiling because of it. He simply wished to sleep now. To just take a break for a simple second. He wanted to be laying on Toothless' back, high above everything else, and on the way home to his dad. He wanted a hug from anyone there. He wanted to see Astrid's beautiful hair, to feel it caress his rough, calloused palms, and kiss her neck. He wanted to hear his student's laughter echo in the ring, and feel pride in the people soaring above him. He wanted to bake bread for the first time. He wondered what his mom was like.

All these images flashed behind his eyes within a profound split-second. He put them aside now.

Hiccup would not get any luxuries. Accepting this, he wiped at his eyes harshly, and let out a war-torn, unsteady snarl. This was a technique he'd learned from both Vikings and dragons. They were alike individualistically in battle, Hiccup came to learn. When any kind of doubt steadily crept inside and left them fearful, they could force a snarl into being, introducing fresh fire and fury into their spirit. It was instinctual in both races. When they couldn't scream nor roar, they would both do this, and it helped Hiccup to do right now. He felt as vitalized as he could after his pathetic defiance reverberated through his frame. Adrenaline pumped again through his sore muscles, revealing to him the pain and hope he felt underneath. There was a smell of blood on him, his own blood, and the feeling of the knife under his belt. His sight finally stabilized. He glared ahead.

A gaze that was unparalleled reached into the deepest depths of his soul, and said dragon had Toothless under his grip. Toothless head was pinned to the grass with ease, and his desperate attempts at escape were completely futile. His roars were trapped in his own throat, reaching Hiccup's ears as heartbreaking and terrible cries. This threatened Hiccup's hope, but the beast looked at him patiently, expectantly. It was making no move to hurt him. He was waiting for Hiccup.

Hiccup could do nothing to this beast in his state. He was not a warrior like his father. However, he knew he could do something at all. Toothless wasn't dead yet, and he'd do anything if it meant saving his friend. He had to figure what this dragon wanted with him.

Hiccup's heart shriveled, and he straightened up against the cave wall. He teetered off unsteadily, and began approaching them.

" _ **Sud been tyy len, aye?"**_ The beast hissed to him, sounding amused.

" _ **Kar veesh**_." Hiccup demanded, coughing.

And to Hiccup's harrowing surprise, the Ku'velt responded to him in  _perfectly_ pronounced Norse. " _Oh, interesting_. You've learned the tongue too, haven't you? Well, you'll never fix that ridiculous accent, so let's not embarrass ourselves, shall we? I can stoop to your limited talk."

Hiccup had only heard his tongue from dragons on Berk itself. A good amount of them had learned by now, and only a handful of humans (including Hiccup) had their native language as well. Hearing the foreign dragon speak Norse shook Hiccup deeply. He felt nausea rush through from the shock, and he smothered it down again.

He could already tell this was like no dragon he'd ever met.

Hiccup made a snappy, fair assessment.  _Maybe if he'd taken the time to learn Norse, he'd be willing to hear him out._

"Let him go." Hiccup repeated. He stopped in front of it. Hiccup wanted to ignore the fact that it could swallow him whole.

Toothless glanced at him under the helpless hold. He tried to force his way up again with all his legs, but the dominant grip didn't even budge. His eyes were swelling with anguish and smoldering fury. Hiccup could tell he was wordlessly roaring at him to  _stay away_ , but Hiccup couldn't do that. He wouldn't. Toothless knew that too, ultimately. With new found energy, Toothless struggled harder.

The Ku'lvet Rueth was almost identical to how it was described in the tome. Everything was true, from the beautiful gold plates that layered him thickly, to the varied gems that showered off him and left a wonderful path wherever it went. Sapphires, emeralds, rubies- every significant rock he could imagine seemed to be dusting the ground. They all glared in the sun. This was all true to the passage, and there were more details that Hiccup couldn't help but acknowledge that weren't described.

It had a broad chest and muscular legs, posing great strength, with a sinuous tail that ended with heavy golden plates down each side, fanning out. His horns were enormous and set just above its brow, arcing up gracefully and twirling into a image of a rightful crown atop its head, reaching point on each side. It framed his supernatural gaze. Hiccup couldn't see any teeth, yet he imagined there were perfect  _razors_  lurking behind the wide maw. Hiccup could neither see its claws, since they were retracted, but he knew they could each be as long as his entire forearm, and very capable considering his unique paws. Could have he done all those drawings and writing in the cave? Hiccup couldn't indulge this idea much. The dragon would barely fit inside, and it layered every surface, all the way to the end.

Everything that was written was true, plus more. The only thing Hiccup noticed was overstated was its size. It had been extremely overstated, considering a battleship couldn't even fit in this field, and that was the word that was used to gauge it. It had rose from only a decent size pond, in fact. He was big nonetheless, much bulkier and longer than the average brute dragons on Berk, and Hiccup had to wonder how much of that was due to its prosperous armor (did it mold the gold to its scales?). It still had the length of Toothless head to tail still, about four times over. Hiccup could be trampled by it in its passing and it'd be none the wiser if he didn't make scream out.

The Ku'lvet held himself in a regal fashion. He towered over Hiccup in a aura of pride and prosperity. There wasn't a single blemish or crack on his surface. It commanded Hiccup's utmost respect.

"I've never seen you in the flesh before your journey." the Ku'lvet spoke. It made a strange shudder with its massive head. During this tremor, the eyes glowed even brighter down at Hiccup, then he peered closer into him. Hiccup took a few involuntary steps back, "I wonder what proceeds in that mind, especially now. It was exciting to see into you, even if it was only for a minute. Do you think you can do anything other than beg for your friend now?"

All three of them knew he wasn't capable of anything else. Hiccup was soberly aware he could fight. He always had been, and that's why he was so skilled with his words now. This was his one true defense in anything, if he didn't have time to plan a mode of attack. He had to use his gifts of logic and democracy. He needed to talk this beast down somehow. Whether it was possible or not at this point, he wasn't sure. Regardless, if Toothless was dead, so was he. He had to try.

He didn't know what was meant by "never actually seeing him" before this trip. This statement felt deeply enigmatic. It was a riddle he might have to come back to, if he ever had the chance. Other than that, Hiccup was disturbingly wary he knew what he meant by "seeing into him". Hiccup didn't want to question this. He didn't want to think about it at all.

From what Hiccup could see, Toothless wasn't visually injured. Yet. He wasn't sure if this was intended to be a game, or what. It was possible they were getting emotionally toyed with before an ultimatum. Despite this, Toothless still alive, and the dragon was interested in Hiccup's answer. This was all Hiccup had to go on for hope.

Hiccup had a knife under his belt. It was five inches long and only another stick in this presence of this enemy. It didn't even meet the equations Hiccup had flying through his foggy thoughts. He could do nothing with it. It was comforting, but foolish if he were to pull it out. He was beginning to think clearly now.

Hiccup took a few moments to figure what to say. The dragon said stated something else that chilled Hiccup to the core. "I assure you now, my mind is mine and yours is your own. So tell me, what do you think you can do to stop me from killing your dragon?"

He sounded like a male. The gold scales around the lips cracked a bit, flaking down in sparkling dust.

...Was it really the same voice he was hearing in his head? From the stone? Hiccup felt so violated by it.

He was smiling at Hiccup now. Waiting again.

Hiccup raised his hands placatingly, "I don't own him. You don't want to hurt him. We aren't a threat." he said. Toothless let out another muffled roar.

"That's already been addressed. Don't waste your time, human. Why am I not ripping out his neck right now? Hm?" He pressed again.

The sound of the dragon's voice shook Hiccup's skull. The waves groped around the inside of his skull. He cringed, pressing the nausea down further. "Why wouldn't I treat you mercilessly like anyone else I would encounter?"

The dragon's voice was so  _voluminous_. It had a property to it that made it sound like it was emanating from the ground itself. It was nearly sickening to Hiccup.

He didn't want to agitate him further. He decided the best thing to do was directly answer any questions. Apparently, he  _needed_  an answer. Hiccup didn't know what they had done to provoke him yet, but he had to assume they had stepped into his territory.

"Because we aren't like anyone else you've encountered." Hiccup posed, "That dragon is my friend. Please, don't hurt him."

"Ah, there we go. This is what I wanted." he seemed very contented at this. He craned his head at the human, gesturing between the duo, "That would obvious to anyone at first glance, wouldn't it? A forbidden companionship. I know many who wouldn't accept this. Generations of many, in fact. Do you think  _I_  accept this?"

Their lives revolved around this question now, and Hiccup was almost positive it was coming. It was always the first wall they had to climb with a new dragon. Hiccup was tired of it. However, he had danced this routine many times, and he hadn't died yet, even succeeding most of the times. He had to get this dragon to see them.  _Really_ see them.

"There is many among us now. We live in harmony. We ended a war together. We have a great story, if you haven't heard it already. If you haven't, I would be proud to tell you it." Hiccup said, "We are  _all_ equals, and we take care of each other. Listen, our people will know if something happened to us."

Hiccup heart skipped when he saw the dragon glower. He had regretted saying the last words the moment they left his mouth. He realized he might have crushed his only chance.

The dragon's eyes flashed through exclusively dark pigments, more rapidly than before. Hiccup was mesmerized at this and couldn't peel his stare away. He had seen chameleons and certain dragon species leisurely change scale tone to match environments and their present temperament, but never so quickly, and never in their  _eyes_. He watched and wondered. It had no practicality as far as he knew. What was the point of that in the real world? What could he see through that otherworldly leer? He was terrified of that dark look. It sunk under his skin.

"I know better than you think about your people,  _Hiccup_   _the third._ And I do not appreciate the indirect threat, so let me make confident in you that  _if_ your people come here, they will all utterly parish. None of them will survive. I promise that. Does that make sense?"

The words weighed down on Hiccup's shoulders painfully. He felt so small.

Hiccup had an island full of savage warriors and dragons, willing to fight for any cause of this companionship. They would rip their own hearts out if it meant saving them. They were loyal to the edge of the earth, because they owed them their way of life. For some reason though, Hiccup believed what the Ku'lvet was saying was true. Hiccup believed him when he said he capable of wiping out any number of them. It was the way he said it, and the eyes he couldn't dispute.

He wouldn't risk it. He had to get out of here alive.

Toothless became still, shocked at the fact he uttered Hiccup's name. They exchanged looks and had no answers for each other.

"Yes." Hiccup said gravely.

"But that's not what I want to do." Ku'lvet stated, "Very far from it in fact."

"Okay. How do you know us?" Hiccup asked.

His eyes shifted back to their usual, softer chaos of colors. He shifted on top of Toothless.

"I know many things. I know you followed the book Anton wrote. I know not many have before you, and I've killed them all. I told him not to document this place. I was not as friendly as he thought." he snorted, "He could be comically thick sometimes. I any manner, there was only a dozen copies, and I burned all these adventurers and their books when they dropped by."

Hiccup had no idea who Anton was. He read nothing about this person in the book.

The beast continued, leisurely inspecting his other paw, "Your father has the last copy, I'm certain, and you were the people I wanted to meet, so I suppose it worked out. It nearly always does." One talon slip out of his index toe. Hiccup was right about it. It was as long as his arm.

Toothless tried to struggle more, and when the Ku'lvet applied more pressure to mute him, he whined from the pain. He quickly stopped squirming.

"Please-" Hiccup begged, but was interrupted.

The dragon leaned down to say this into Toothless ear, "Except with you two, hm? And it is quite unfortunate, if not fascinating, little  _ **Daizon**_. I've also learned much more about you since you've stepped foot on my island. You two indeed have a  _fierce_  relationship. Nothing should be able break the steel pact between you."

The Ku'lvet brought down his unsheathed claw to Toothless face. He gently traced his brow, and then proceeded to brush his bared teeth, taking his time on every deadly fang.

Hiccup began to panic. He stammered, " _No_. We aren't bad people. We've saved many from death and we are stronger together now. We just wanted to talk to you and see if the story was true.  _I did._ I'm curious to a fault. If we've disturbed your peace, we will go now. We'll never come back or say a word."

"No, I understand. And neither am I the embodiment of justice and ethics, so you're gonna have to do better than that, child." he huffed, looking back up to Hiccup. Strangely, he looked genuinely disappointed, "Nonetheless, we're running out of time. Let's switch discussion, and stop begging. Just talk, and you will get out alive."

He was stunned to hear this. Hiccup nodded frantically, "Yes. Yes, we'll talk. What do you want to know?" he asked desperately. Anything to prolong time. He wasn't sure where he was standing with him right now. His nerves were wholly shot and the dragon was so... idiosyncratic so far. He still had no idea what his goal was.

Could this really be as simple as a territorial offense?

"Are you sure this Night Fury isn't keeping anything from you?" he asked.

Hiccup was stunted. He didn't expect anything of that sort.

Toothless stared at him with wide eyes. Hiccup couldn't read his eyes. He just seemed stunted as well. He continued staring at him, however. For the first time, he was truly speechless. He hoped to find something in his friend's eyes that would help him.

"I- don't understand what you mean. What-"

The gold being shook his head wildly, snarling. Hiccup involuntarily jumped again.

The dragon seemed very frustrated now. "My sight gets untangled at this point. You know what I said. Are you sure there is something he is not telling you?" he repeated.

Hiccup's mouth hung agape. He didn't know what he was referring to as  _untangled_. Another riddle.

"Speak." the dragon demanded.

He did. "We are transparent, as far as I know. And I trust what I don't know not to hurt us." Hiccup said. This was true to his heart, yet the dragon was implying something was maybe… concerning with that. What was he trying to achieve? "Why? Does it matter to you? Do you know something I don't?"

The dragon stared at him steadily. Hiccup couldn't find anger in them this time, and it bothered him.

Hiccup had never seen eyes like that. He wasn't sure what he was. Was he a reptile? There were depths in his stare that any living thing didn't have. He had to be different.

"I suppose you should, and no, not exactly." he finally settled with a sound akin to a sigh. It shook the floor. "I should, but I don't. This is an unusual phenomenon, and when it happens, it angers me deeply. Even if I can't tell how you two turn out, I know it's disagreeable to me. I can sense it."

A acute silence settled on all of them. Toothless was no longer stirring.

Hiccup was totally lost now. This beast obviously had something in mind, but he wouldn't share it. He had questions just for them, but they made no sense. He was a real threat Hiccup was helpless to contend, but he didn't seem to actually want to hurt them anymore. This was deeper than Hiccup could have known. It made nausea sweep into being again.

The dragon seemed to be considering something deeply. This terrified both Hiccup and Toothless.

_Just answer the questions, Hiccup. It doesn't matter anymore. You don't need to provoke him._

"I don't know what you want with us, but we'd like to decide our future. Even if it's the saddle you don't agree with, or the place we come from, we have done much to help your kind. Single handedly. There is no underhanded intent in that, I swear. We just want to help dragons. Please, just let us leave." Hiccup asked for the final time.

The dragon glanced at him once again. A few moments passed between the undecipherable look. It lasted an entire lifetime.

"Indeed." he simply said, "I am not one of them though."

Hiccup already had his suspicions. He didn't know what that truly meant, if he wasn't. He was utterly intimidated.

Before Hiccup could choke out a response, The Ku'lvet spoke again, "Well, I'm not sure what I was to gain from this exchange. I thought it could clear this up, but I should know better. Promise me one thing, Hiccup, and I will set him free. And listen carefully. Do you understand?"

Hiccup could no longer construct cohesive thoughts. His head was pulsing and spinning and constricting once more.  _He was going to let him go now? Why? Was this a trick? He still had no idea what this was all for? Maybe he just like his meat upset before he ate it. If he wasn't a dragon, what was he capable of?_

"Yes." Hiccup stated, quivering.

Ku'lvet leaned down.

"Come closer." he said.

Hiccup wanted to sob at that, but he had no choice. He would do anything for Toothless. He stepped forward. They were eye to eye, and only about a foot distanced them.

He spoke softly, almost tenderly, suddenly. The human could feel himself becoming faint again, and he held on for the sake of his dragon. Hiccup stared at the soft colors flashing before him, and mingled with his chilling breath. It said, "Remember this, and remember what I shared with you before. You owe this to me now, right? My mercy and interest was the difference between your life and damning this morning. I do not know what will happen exactly, but this relationship cannot last if it does. Something must be kindled, or it will all fall apart- Everything you have achieved, and it's all on you. We do not know how deep the blood runs until it is spilt. This is all I'm reminded of. Remember that, and you may be saved."

His subconsciousness engraved every syllable that he heard into the roof of his skull, never to be forgotten, but couldn't really hear anything right now. He was thinking about his dad's face.

"Everything  _before_?" he moaned.

"You  _know_  what I mean. Destiny is a cruel wretch, and it mustn't betray us this time." he continued, "What it has guided for us is… very  _boring_ , I must say. There is something better out there, something beyond this. Will you be strong enough to grab fate by the throat, boy? Swear to me that you will remember what I have said, or I will make sure you suffer worse than you can ever imagine."

"I promise." Hiccup couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth. He was promising to make the future less boring. Right?

The Ku'lvet lifted a bit of pressure from Toothless' head, and spoke directly to him, "Do not let what you will happen break you. You must fix what is broken, and everything I have said to your friend. That is your dam against the flow. Like I said, you are a  _rare_ _ **Dragi**_. Do not squander it. This is high praise, I assure you."

The Ku'lvet adjusted his grip, releasing enough as to allow Toothless to move a bit.

"What do you have to say,  _ **Daizon**_?"

For the first time during the exchange, Toothless was given the opportunity to speak, and he said, " **Nel dah**."

Toothless was never one to squander opportunity. He proved this immediately.

With the grip loosened and the Ku'lvet's guard up, Toothless was able to jerk out of the clutches of the bigger dragon, and he spiraled into a frenzy of ever-building rage he was steeping inside him. He became a black, deadly blur- the last stream of color before death clutched its fist around you. Hiccup recognized what was happening only after it was already over.

Toothless screeched viscerally, and tore into the gold chest with a powerful swipe of his razor-sharp claws. He advanced to his head and sunk his teeth into his thick neck, wrenching it with a clean jerk into a mangled mess. This all happened within a micro moment.

" _No!_ " Hiccup screamed.

Toothless then leaped into the air, clutching Hiccup in his paws to carry with him, and all in one swift motion, spun around and shot one plasma bolt straight into the Ku'lvet Rueth's snout.

They hit the floor smoothly and Hiccup was sheltered by his dragon's bulk. Both of them were expecting retaliation- Toothless flexing with rage and Hiccup unsheathing his knife. They quickly grew weary, and stared as the smoke cleared, waiting.

Nothing happened. The beast didn't even flinch. He just stood there where he was when he released Toothless, not making a sound as he was maimed. If he wasn't in any condition to fight anymore, he should have been choking on his own blood or convulsing to the ground in death. However there was absolutely no reaction. Hiccup and Toothless simply stared in disbelief at the still, standing form.

Once the smoke of Toothless fire dissipated, they recognized only one eye looking back at them. The other side of his face was gone and his snout unrecognizable.

This wasn't what scared them to the point of seizing. The grotesque, they had seen many times before. Toothless was a savage fighter and had gotten them through many altercations, Hiccup witnessing many. Not to mention all the wounds sustained when vikings were constantly raided by the Red Queen. Blood and guts and claws were familiar to them- a way of life before their harmony.  _This_ , however, they finally truly understood, they couldn't fight.

The remaining eye just stared. The smoke had cleared, and he was simply looking at them, making no move.

His jaw hung at a radical angle. Still he was able to speak. It wasn't possible.

"Keep your promises, children."

Their composure was annihilated.

"Oh, gods." Hiccup breathed.

"What are you?" Toothless asked. He sounded so frail.

Hiccup sprung up and onto Toothless back, sliding into the pedal within a moment. "We can't hurt him Toothless!  _Just GO!"_

They escaped. They were amazed. They flew out of the field, and Toothless pumped his wings as hard as he could, not looking back. Before long, the island was gone, and they continued silently. Dark water swallowed up everything in sight once the hours passed and the sun set. Neither of them knew what to say for a long time. Time passed, and they fell into themselves.

As they flew out of the field, Hiccup stole one last glance at the  _thing_. He looked at every injury Toothless made: the laceration in its chest, the gaping tear in its throat, and the smoldering hole in its face. He could never explain what happened to his father. No one would believe them.

There was no blood. There was no flesh. There was no bone. There was no property reminiscent of a living thing lurking underneath the Ku'lvet Rueth, like organs, veins, or tissue. He should have seen a brain in the wound on his face, but there wasn't one. Whatever sustained that thing wasn't anything of this earth. It shattered their perspective of reality.

Inside of him, there was only shimmering light. It glowed, glinted, and shifted, just like its eyes. There was  _only bright light,_ radiating like nothing he'd ever seen. There were only rainbows under the golden shell. Hiccup couldn't settle his nerves the entire flight home. Hiccup knew he went have went mad if he'd been alone with this.

It spoke to them. It had  _known_  things. It was concerned for Hiccup and Toothless, enough to demand a promise, and neither of them understood what that meant, or the intent behind it. Hiccup remembered everything he heard from the stone. He knew in his heart that it was the same being taking residence in his head for that brief event of supernatural light.

It told him Toothless would ruin him, and to be careful.

He saw him talking to Toothless, but he didn't know what was said between them. They both had conversations with this being that the other couldn't speak on. Hiccup was too afraid to know his side. He was sure Toothless' felt the same way as well.

Hiccup and Toothless said only a few, empty words to one another for the rest of the day. A few hours into the flight, Hiccup finally found the strength to ask a question.

"Why did it call you  _ **Daizon?**_ "

Toothless took a few seconds to respond.

"...That was my name before you found me."

Hiccup felt hollow.

"...You never told me that." Hiccup said, weakly.

Toothless didn't respond.

They made it home without a break. It was a few hours into the night when they reached Berk. The air was cold. The crisp of winter was beginning to settle in.

When Hiccup walked into his house, Stoick was there. He asked what had happened to them. Why was he covered in so many cuts and bruises. Was everything all right.

Hiccup could only hug his father, and tell him it was fine. He went upstairs to his bed without another word, and Toothless followed. The dragon was exhausted from the flight, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Hiccup didn't find rest that entire night. His eyes stared wide at the dusty ceiling.

He was haunted.

* * *

A/N: Translations -  **Nel dah =** F*ck you.

lol

Does that feel like a jarring end? Incomplete? That's cause it is. I might have to go back and edit a few things after posting this to flesh out the chapter, but it's finished for now. This arc ends here. This story is now a prologue.

After posting the last chapter, I was rereading one of my older stories called "Winter Beds". There's not much to it. All of you reading this have never read it, I'm sure hahaha. I liked the premise I set up, however, I went nowhere with it. I only got two chapters in basically before I never updated it again for some reason I can't remember. It's too bad honestly, because it was cute and different so far. It had real potential I think. I gave up on many things at that age, sadly. A few people were interested in it though, and it sucks when a story is left incomplete.

I decided I'm going to "finish" Winter Beds. It's going to be a full-fledged story, and Our Gold Rush is now officially the prologue to it. This was a last minute decision, and I hope it captures interest if I didn't execute it sloppily. I hope to make something cool of this total revision. I have no idea where I wanted to go with Winter Beds originally, since the laptop I had all my notes on for it is long gone, and I never got done with it. It's insanely unfinished, in fact (read it if you want! I won't take it down), regardless, I still remember the spirit I had wanted for it. I still really like that spirit, and I want to write that story again. While I was brainstorming the end of Our Gold Rush, I realized this story sort of shared the same spirit and ideas, and I worked with that on this chapter. Making a heavy redraft on this story's ending, it'll hopefully be able to set up something you guys find interesting. We're flying by the seat of our pants, boys and girls!  And if there's anyone here that is still interested in where that dumb story was going years ago, hopefully I'm doing you justice now. 

You'll hear about Winter Beds spiritual successor soon if you give this story a follow, and we'll see how a seed of doubt can grow between two friends. Leave a review! ~ModestDragon

A/N for AoOO: If you are interested in reading my older stories, including Winter Beds, you'll have to find it on FFN. I will not be poster older work here.


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